Governor Cooper signed more than two dozen bills into law today - including the HOPE act.
It stands for "heroin and opioid prevention enforcement."
High Point Police Chief Ken Shultz and Attorney General Josh Stein introduced the Hope Act last month.
Stein says it focuses on smart enforcement to stop opioid abuse.
"The hope act will give law enforcement more tools to break up drug rings that are getting all of these prescriptions and then selling those drugs on the street. So we're excited about dealing with that part of the problem but this is a very complex problem that has many elements and we have much more work to do," said Stein.
The Hope Act gives law enforcement access to prescription drug records for their investigations.
It lays out steeper consequences for healthcare workers who steal, dilute or substitute a patient's drugs.
It also invests $11-million dollars in treatment programs.
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