To further combat the heroin and opioid epidemic, on December 14, 2015 DHMH announced a statewide standing order allowing pharmacists to dispense naloxone without a prescription under the Maryland’s Overdose Response Program.  This expanded access is expected to reduce overdose deaths, which increased 60% statewide between 2010 and 2014.  The order allows all Maryland-licensed pharmacists to dispense naloxone without a prescription to anyone trained and certified under the Overdose Response Program. Certificate holders must pay for the medication.  The department has authorized 41 organizations to conduct naloxone trainings and to issue certificates.   Nearly 13,000 people have been certified since March 2014.

In addition to expanding access to naloxone through the Overdose Response Program, a new law also allows physicians to prescribe naloxone to a patient who they believe might be in a position to assist someone experiencing an opioid overdose. The law protects providers from civil lawsuits when they prescribe or dispense naloxone to patients in good faith and according to statutory requirements.