Michigan opioid prescriptions down 15 percent last year

LANSING (AP) — The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs says the number of opioids dispensed in the state decreased by 15 percent in 2018 compared with the year before.

It said Tuesday the number of opioid prescriptions dispensed fell to 8.2 million last year compared with 9.7 million in 2017.

LARA says that during the same time period, the state saw the number of prescribers, pharmacists and others registered in the Michigan Automated Prescription System more than double to 68,000 from 29,000.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says the Automated Prescription System “has played a critical role in both combatting the opioid epidemic here in Michigan and in ensuring patients who need prescription drugs have access to them.”