AUGUSTA, Maine (AP)   Prescriptions of opioid painkillers are dropping in Maine as the state rolls out a prescription monitoring law that’s been hailed as one of the nation’s toughest.

A new state report of insurance carriers finds opioid prescription claims dropped by nearly 20 percent between the first half of 2016 and that period in 2017.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says opioid painkiller prescriptions have dropped nationally in recent years. Maine in 2012 topped the nation in the rate of long-term opioid painkillers and has since capped daily dosages and required electronic prescriptions.

Observers say tougher prescribing laws could keep opioids off the streets. But they don’t expect such efforts alone to significantly decrease overdose deaths.

Some Mainers say they’re forced off painkillers while struggling to access alternative therapies.