Legislation requiring the warning labels on opioids was part of a three-bill package Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law on Monday to try to help get a grip on the epidemic that has claimed thousands of New Jersey lives.

TRENTON — Pharmacies in New Jersey will soon need to affix red stickers or labels on bottles of prescription opioids that warn of the risks of addiction.

Legislation requiring the warning labels on opioids was part of a three-bill package Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law on Monday to try to help get a grip on the epidemic that has claimed thousands of New Jersey lives.

The other two bills Murphy signed specify that Medicaid recipients should be eligible for medication assisted treatment without prior authorization so long as the drugs are prescribed or administered by a licensed medical practitioner and designate Oct. 6 each year as “Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day.”

“The opioid crisis has had a devastating impact on our communities, robbing us of too many of our friends, family members and loved ones,” Murphy said Monday in a statement. “This legislation continues our work to combat the opioid crisis by ensuring that there are warning labels outlining the risk of opioid medications, expanding access to treatment that so many need and raising awareness of just how easy it is to become addicted to opioids.”

The warning label law requires the Division of Consumer Affairs and Department of Health to develop the specific language that will appear on the labels or stickers. The law specifies that rules for the labels are expected to take effect in seven months.

More than 3,000 people died from drug overdoses in New Jersey last year, including 152 in Burlington County. Nationwide, an estimated 72,000 American lives were lost in 2017.

The legislation removing the need for Medicaid recipients to get prior authorization from their managed care plans for medication assisted treatment codifies a change in policy the Department of Human Services implemented in April. Eliminating the requirement was considered key to helping people get into treatment quicker.

“When it comes to the treatment of people suffering from opioid addiction, every moment matters,” said Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald, D-6th of Voorhees, who was a prime sponsor of the measure eliminating the requirement.

“With this new law, we’re confirming via statute that Medicaid recipients will be able to receives critical treatment when needed and begin their road to recovery,” he added.

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