Stopping Prescription Drug Abuse

In response to soaring abuse of prescription drugs on the South Shore, Cape Cod and across the Commonwealth, the Senate unanimously passed a bill in early February to combat the prescription drug abuse epidemic.

The abuse of these drugs has devastating effects on individuals and families of every socio-economic background. A report released by the OxyContin and Heroin Commission found that Massachusetts has one of the highest rates of opiate abuse in the nation, causing 3,265 deaths from 2002 to 2007 and 23,369 hospitalizations in 2006 alone.

This legislation won’t immediately solve the problem, but it is a big first step.

Under the bill, strict oversight of the drugs will be established, making sure our doctors are registered in the state’s Prescription Monitoring Program so that patients don’t “doctor shop” for addictive medications like OxyContin and Vicodin.

To educate the public on the dangers of prescription drug addiction, the legislation requires the Department of Public Health to produce informational pamphlets explaining addiction risks, signs of dependency, where to go for treatment, and ways to safely store and discard drugs. The pamphlets will be distributed by pharmacies with each prescription filled.

Additionally, pharmacies and drug manufacturers will be required to alert local police when reporting missing controlled substances to the Drug Enforcement Administration. The bill also requires all prescriptions for controlled substances to be written on “secure” forms, using special watermarks, serial numbers or micro-printing to be determined by the Department of Public Health.

Also included in the bill is a ban on the possession, distribution and manufacturing of synthetic over-the-counter recreational drugs known as “bath salts”, which are smoked, inhaled or injected and linked to serious physical and mental problems.

The cost of prescription drug abuse is high, both to families and the economy, and this issue has a significant impact on public safety in communities throughout the Commonwealth. This bill will help save lives and it will save taxpayers hundreds-of-millions of dollars annually in costs associated with prescription drug abuse – including hospital visits, court appearances, jail time and social services.

I’m proud that we were able to get this bill done, and I expect it to get to the governor’s desk soon. I want to thank my colleague Senator John Keenan and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health for their work on this extremely important issue.