RALEIGH -- Gov. Roy Cooper signed a new bill aimed to curb the state's opioid crisis.

The stop act or "Strengthen Opioid Misuse Prevention Act" addresses prescribing opioids and dispensing drugs.

Attorney Gen. Josh Stein says the measure will mean fewer drugs in the hands of North Carolinians.

"The number of people who were addicted to prescription pain killers in the first place by having shorter prescriptions and fewer pills in people's medicine cabinets, we can save lives. And that's what the STOP act will do is save more lives here in North Carolina."

Gov. Cooper's office says there were more than 1,100 opioid deaths in our state in 2015.