2019 Legislation

During the 2019 legislative session, MACHO served as the leading voice on local public health issues in Maryland, weighing in on these and other bills.

Tobacco 21

House Bill 1169: Business Regulation – Tobacco Products and Electronic Smoking Devices – or Tobacco 21

MACHO supported this legislation because
Research shows:

Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death and disability in the U.S.
80 percent of non-smokers and 70 percent of smokers favor increasing the age of tobacco sales to 21

Raising the minimum age for tobacco and liquid nicotine sales to 21 will result in:

An immediate decrease in smoking rates
120,000+ fewer tobacco users in Maryland over the next 30 years

Each year:

Tobacco-related diseases cost Maryland’s economy $2.7 billion in direct medical expenses
This breaks down to $576 million covered by Medicaid and $2.2 billion in lost productivity to Maryland businesses
Maryland households are taxed $824 on average to cover tobacco-related government expenses

And in localities that have enacted Tobacco 21 legislation, youth tobacco use has decreased:

In the year after implementation, Chicago found a 36 percent decrease in 18 to 20-year-olds currently smoking cigarettes
In Oregon, recent tobacco initiation rates dropped statewide from 34 to 25 percent among 13 to 17-year-olds and from 23 to 18 percent among 18 to 20-year-olds within two years of the passage of Tobacco 21 legislation.

Sources: Public Health Implications of Raising the Minimum Age of Legal Access to Tobacco Products. Bonnie, R., Stratton, K., and Kwan, L, editors. National Academies Press, Washington, DC. 2015; Harold J. Farber, Smita Pakhale, and Enid R. Neptune (2016). Tobacco 21: An Important Public Policy to Protect Our Youth. Ann Am Thorac Soc Vol 13, No 12, pp 2115–2118; https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fast_facts/index.htm; http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/facts_issues/toll_us/maryland; King, B.A., Jama, A.O., Maryak, K.L. (2015). Attitudes toward raising the minimum age of sale for tobacco among U.S. adults. American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 49(4), 583-588; https://tobacco21.org/tobacco-21-fact-sheet/.

Medication-Assisted Treatment of Opioid Use Disorders in Jails

House Bill 116: Public Health - Correctional Services - Opioid Use Disorder Examinations and Treatment

MACHO supported this legislation because

Individuals suffering from opioid addiction serving time in county jails and Baltimore’s pretrial detention center often endure painful withdrawal.
Passage of this bill would make Maryland the second state, following Rhode Island, to offer methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone inside jails. And in Rhode Island, overdose deaths of former prisoners dropped 61 percent after MAT became widely available behind bars, which reduced overall overdose deaths statewide by 12 percent.
In Maryland, 70 percent of people who enter the correctional system have a dependence on drugs or alcohol. And one of the leading causes of death for all inmates upon release is overdose.

Sources: Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services; JAMA.

Monitoring Prescription Drug Data for Possible Abuse or Misuse

House Bill 25: Public Health - Prescription Drug Monitoring Program - Revisions

MACHO supported this legislation because

Between 1997 and 2007, the use of prescription opioids in the U.S., including opioid pain relievers like oxycodone (OxyContin, Percocet, Percodan, Roxicet), hydrocodone (Vicodin, Lortab) and methadone prescribed for pain; anti-anxiety and sedative medications like alprazolam (Xanax) and diazepam (Valium); and stimulants like Adderall and Ritalin increased from 74 mgp er person to 369 mg per person, an increase of 402 percent.
With the increased availability of many types of controlled substances came a growing epidemic of prescription drug misuse, abuse, and addiction.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers prescription drug abuse to be the fastest growing drug problem in the nation and a major contributor to the current record level of drug overdose deaths in the United States.
In Maryland, over 40 percent of all alcohol- and drug-related overdose deaths between 2007 and 2012 involved one or more prescription opioids. And between 2008 and 2012, admissions to State-supported substance use disorder treatment programs related to any prescription drug increased 110 percent. And prescription opioid-related and benzodiazepine-related treatment admissions increased by 116% and 138%, respectively.

Source: Maryland Department of Health Behavioral Health Administration.