Dear AAPS Members and Friends in Florida,
We are writing to let you know about a bad bill that is making its way through the Florida Legislature.
SB 714 (text | status), if signed into law, would require the State of Florida to create and make available a “nonopioid advance directive form that allows a person to indicate to a treating health care provider that he or she does not want to be prescribed or administered an opioid drug… in the event that he or she should become incapacitated and is unable to personally direct his or her health care.”
While this legislation, purportedly intended to address a “rise in drug overdose deaths,” may sound benign at first glance, it will have unintended consequences that are unsafe for patients and detrimental to the medical professionals caring for them, explains a JAMA review from 2022.
The bottom line is that the State of Florida should not be in the business of facilitating policies that block the options doctors have available to help patients at times when they are the most in need of medical care.
This bill will be heard by the Florida State Senate Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services on Tuesday 03/18/2025 at 9:30 am. Please take a moment to let committee members know that they must oppose SB 714.
