Gov. Charlie Baker. (Isaac Brekken/Getty Images for National Clean Energy Summit)
BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- At a forum on the opioid crisis hosted by The Washington Post at the Hyatt Regency Hotel Thursday morning, Gov. Charlie Baker offered some suggestions on how he thinks the state can fight the opioid crisis.
Baker said that, while Massachusetts has been a leader in the battle against opioid addiction, the state can and must do more.
He was asked what he thinks the pharmaceutical industry should do.
"I would like them to acknowledge the fact that, for very many people in the United States of America, those medications, improperly promoted, have caused an incredible amount of pain and destruction."
In addition, the governor said he'd like to make available what he called "blister packs," so doctors could prescribe a smaller dose of pain medication for smaller procedures.
"I talk to people all the time who say, you know, I had a minor procedure, and my provider wanted to write me a thirty-day supply," he said. "I said I didn't want a thirty-day supply, they said take it, I said I don't want it, they said take it."
He also suggested more of those companies make their pain medications tamper-proof.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports