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sb434_00_IN
As Introduced
136th
General Assembly
Regular
Session
S. B. No. 434
2025-2026
Senator Reynolds
To
enact section 3719.051 of the Revised Code
to
require that addiction-related educational materials be provided when
dispensing opioid analgesics and benzodiazepines and to name this act
the Verified Opioid and Intoxicant Consumer Education or VOICE Act.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section
1.
That
section 3719.051 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec.
3719.051.
(A)
As used in this section, "pharmacy intern" means an
individual licensed under Chapter 4729. of the Revised Code to
practice as a pharmacy intern.
(B)
The departments of health and behavioral health, in consultation with
the chemical dependency professionals board and state board of
pharmacy, shall develop for distribution to patients educational
materials regarding the use of benzodiazepines or opioid analgesics.
The materials shall address all of the following topics:
(1)
Risks of addiction, misuse, and substance use disorder presented by
the drugs;
(2)
Signs of drug addiction, drug misuse, or substance use disorder, and
in particular, each condition's early warning signs;
(3)
Safe use and proper disposal and storage of the drugs;
(4)
Alternative methods for treating pain;
(5)
Information about and resources available for intervention and
addiction treatment.
(C)(1)
When dispensing a benzodiazepine or opioid analgesic to a patient
upon an initial prescription, a pharmacist, or pharmacy intern under
the pharmacist's supervision, shall provide the patient or patient's
representative with the educational materials described in division
(B) of this section.
(2)
A pharmacist or pharmacy intern also shall provide a patient or
patient's representative with a survey to assist the patient or
representative in assessing or confirming the patient's or
representative's understanding of the topics described in divisions
(B)(1) to (5) of this section. A patient or representative is not
required to complete the survey as a condition of receiving the
benzodiazepine or opioid analgesic.
(3)
In providing the educational materials and survey to a patient or
patient's representative, a pharmacist or pharmacy intern may do so
by digital or electronic means, including by electronic mail or text
message. In the case of a patient or representative who lacks digital
or electronic access, paper copies of the materials and survey shall
be provided.
(D)(1)
Except as provided in division (D)(2) of this section, the
requirements of division (C) of this section apply to any
benzodiazepine and opioid analgesic dispensed upon an initial
prescription, regardless of whether the drug was prescribed for
inpatient or outpatient use.
(2)
The requirements of division (C) of this section do not apply to a
benzodiazepine or opioid analgesic prescribed in any of the following
circumstances:
(a)
For the treatment of cancer or another condition associated with
cancer;
(b)
To a hospice patient in a hospice care program, as those terms are
defined in section 3712.01 of the Revised Code, or any other patient
diagnosed as terminally ill;
(c)
To a patient receiving palliative care, as that term is defined in
section 3712.01 of the Revised Code.
Section
2.
This
act shall be known as the Verified Opioid and Intoxicant Consumer
Education or VOICE Act.