Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has approved two bills that address West Virginia’s substance abuse problem.
The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that the Democrat signed bills Tuesday dealing with regulation of opioid treatment clinics and availability of life-saving opioid overdose medication.
One measure will regulate Suboxone and methadone clinics, which use medication-based treatment for opioids. It will require clinics to be licensed and to offer counseling.
The other law will make the overdose-reversing drug naloxone, known by the brand name Narcan, available without a prescription. Last year, Tomblin signed a bill letting first responders carry naloxone.
Tomblin introduced the bills, and the Republican-led Legislature passed them.