COLUMBUS, Ohio — (AP) - Pharmacies in Ohio will soon offer biodegradable bags so people who are prescribed opioids for work injuries can safely dispose of any opioids they don't use.
Gov. Mike DeWine said in a statement that the program is intended to prevent addiction when injured workers are prescribed opioids as part of an Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation claim.
The Republican governor says injured workers who received their first prescription within the past 12 months will receive a disposal bag when they fill their prescription. When unused opioids pills and patches from those prescriptions are put in the bags with water, activated charcoal renders the drugs ineffective. The bags later break down.
The state will cover the cost of the bags. They will be available at every retail pharmacy beginning Nov. 1.