A Rise in Crime Causes State Lawmakers to Rally for Stricter Prescription Drug Laws
Posted on January 19, 2012Recent pharmacy shootings around the country are causing state lawmakers to demand stricter guidelines for some pain medicines. United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is already asking several federally-regulated agencies to look at restrictions on opiates, specifically hydrocodone. The senator’s push was highlighted in a recent article that includes copies of her actual letters. She has been writing to encourage speedy results of studies showing the outcomes of addiction to prescription drugs. By reclassifying drugs like hydrocodone to "Schedule II" drugs, there would be stricter rules for doctors who write the prescriptions and the pharmacist who fills them.
In a letter addressed to the Food and Drug Administration and Drug Enforcement Administration, Gillibrand spoke frankly about her concerns for the increase in abuse of prescription drugs, particularly hydrocodone. Research began on hydrocodone more than a decade ago and Gillibrand is demanding those studies be conclusive and force accountability. During a nine year period, between 2000 and 2009, there was a significant increase of individuals who entered an emergency room for non-medical hydrocodone. It’s a jump from 19,221 visits to 86,258.
To take the action one step further, Gillibrand requested extra funding to support prescription programs to monitor at-risk addicts. This could give local law enforcement officers the information needed to combat crimes involving prescription drug abuse. If approved, the National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Act (NASPER) could give individual areas the ability to pass patient histories regarding prescriptions back and forth. Working with NASPER could give current monitoring programs the support needed to accurately identify those patients with addiction signs and offer an intervention. Stepping in early on in the addiction cycle can truly crack down on prescription drug abuse.
