Painkiller Prescription Bottles to Have Locking Devices

A first of its kind program in the U.S. to provide locking devices on painkiller pharmacy prescriptions is now a reality in Illinois after legislation to launch the pilot program was signed into law today, according to a press release.

House Bill 3219, co-sponsored by State Representatives and former prosecutors Michael Zalewski, D-Riverside, Robert Martwick, D-Chicago, and Senator Iris Martinez, D-Chicago, creates the statewide program aimed at saving lives by creating an extra layer of security on prescription drug bottles containing painkillers, which are among the most abused drugs in the nation.

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“I’d like to thank Governor Rauner for his signature. Illinoisans will be safer as a result of this innovative legislation that will reduce the health crisis of opioid abuse,” Rep. Zalewski said.

The new law will launch a one-year pilot program regulated by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) in coordination with participating pharmacies across Illinois. The numerical locking devices – caps similar to those used on gym locks - would be placed on opioid pharmaceutical prescription bottles.

“This program is all about helping people who are caught in the stranglehold of painkiller abuse. If this program saves just one life, it’s worth it,” said Rep. Martwick.

Drug overdose death rates in the United States have more than tripled since 1990, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Prescription painkillers cause three out of four prescription drug overdoses. A report compiled by the CDC released in December 2014, finds that deaths from drug poisoning linked to opioid analgesics (such as morphine, oxycodone, methadone and heroin) have jumped to 41,502 in 2012 from 16,849 back in 1999.

The new law takes effect on January 1, 2016.