State Opioid Initial Prescribing Limits
Maximum days' supply for a first opioid prescription for acute pain, by state, with the statutory or regulatory citation. Over half the states cap initial prescriptions at 3 to 14 days; some also cap daily dosage in morphine milligram equivalents (MME).
Records4
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The data
| state | initial supply days | applies to | exception provision | mme limit | effective date | citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 3-day supply (up to 7-day supply with ACUTE PAIN EXCEPTION) | Schedule II opioids for acute pain | Up to a 7-day supply may be prescribed if the prescriber believes more than a 3-day supply is medically necessary, indicates "ACUTE PAIN EXCEPTION" on the prescription, and documents the acute medical condition and lack of alternative treatment options in the patient's medical records | none | 2018 | F.S. 456.44(5) |
| Massachusetts | 7-day supply | All opiates, first-time prescription for adults; all opiate prescriptions for minors | If, in the professional medical judgment of a practitioner, more than a 7-day supply of an opiate is required to treat the adult or minor patient's acute medical condition or is necessary for the treatment of chronic pain management, pain associated with a cancer diagnosis or for palliative care, then the practitioner may issue a prescription for the quantity needed. The condition must be documented in the patient's medical record and the practitioner shall indicate that a non-opiate alternative was not appropriate. | none | 2016 | Ch. 94C § 19D |
| Minnesota | 7-day supply for adults; 5-day supply for minors under 18; 4-day supply for acute dental pain or acute pain associated with refractive surgery | Opiates or narcotic pain relievers listed in Schedules II through IV, for treatment of acute pain | If, in the professional clinical judgment of a practitioner, more than the limit is required to treat a patient's acute pain, the practitioner may issue a prescription for the quantity needed to treat the patient's acute pain | none | 2017 | Minn. Stat. § 152.11, subd. 4 |
| Virginia | 14-day supply | Opioids for acute pain and subacute pain | May exceed 14-day supply if extenuating circumstances are clearly documented in the medical record | Practitioner shall carefully consider and document reasons to exceed 50 MME/day; prior to exceeding 120 MME/day, shall document reasonable justification or refer to a pain management specialist | August 8, 2018 | 18VAC85-21-40 |
Where this came from
Every record above links the page it was taken from and quotes the sentence that states it. These are the 4 sources this dataset was assembled from.
- leg.state.fl.ushttps://leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0400-0499/0456/Sections/0456.44.html
- malegislature.govhttps://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXV/Chapter94C/Section19D
- revisor.mn.govhttps://revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/152.11
- law.lis.virginia.govhttps://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title18/agency85/chapter21/section40/
Machine-readable
- data.jsonThe whole dataset — every record with its source URL and source quote.
- Open Knowledge Format bundleOne JSON object per line — every record's frontmatter and quoted span exactly as it is held here, in one fetch.
- How this is made and checkedWhat "verified against source" does and does not mean.