Public Hearing on Benzo Bill in Mass.

I testified on Monday at a public hearing held at the state house in Boston. The hearing was to present testimony on a proposed state bill that would regulate benzo prescriptions, requiring, among other things, that patients are given a consent form clearly spelling out the risks before they take benzos. The testimony of people who had been harmed by benzos was extremely moving and emotional. One woman was there on behalf of her son who had taken his own life. There was opposing testimomy from psychiatrists from Mass General and Harvard. Bravo to State Rep. Paul McMurtry for introducing this bill. The bill will either go forward for a vote or go back to committee for further debate. I urge you to follow this bill H4062 and write to your own state legislators asking them to sponsor a similar bill in your state.

kickinit:

 

thank you for your dedicated efforts towards reigning in the abuse of irresponsibly prescribing benzos. If many of us had been warned about the possible severity of its dangers, we may have taken another treatment option, or even foregone treatment.

 

 

laser 

Thanks for testifying KickinIt and keeping us posted about what's happening there!!!  I really hope that bill passes and goes national.  I am hoping to hear from my state legislator about the letter I sent her about my benzo ordeal and a copy of the MA proposed bill.  Fingers crossed...

Thanks so much for your continued dedication!

KickinIt,

 

 

Congratulations for your brave action and standing up to the State house in Boston and giving your testimony!  Awesome!  Hopefully this will start action to protect future patients that may be faced with benzo use.  I'll be on the look out for this type of activity in my state.

 

 

V

You are all more than welcome. Please write to your own state legislators and ask them to take action. I have provided a generic letter you can use in the Chewing the Fat section. Change must come from the bottom up. Nobody in power is going to fix this unless we push the issue. With the Mass bill pending and all the attention on addictive drugs like opiates, now is the time to act!

Just wondering what is happening with the Mass Benzo Bill?  I wrote my state rep and she asked her staff to look into what is being done at the federal and state levels regarding benzos.  She is following what is being done with the MA benzo bill and what happens there will be helpful in determining if my state needs to take further action. 

Thank you so much, Kickinit!! I will write to my state legislators today!!