Senator co-sponsors prescription drug monitoring program legislation to help prevent prescription opioid abuse, a leading contributor to heroin addiction
Jefferson City, Mo. – Calling on lawmakers from both parties to join the fight against prescription opioid abuse, State Senator Jamilah Nasheed has co-sponsored legislation establishing the Missouri Narcotics Control Act.
The legislation, SCS/SBs 314 & 340, co-sponsored by Sen. Nasheed and including SB 340 sponsored by Sen. Schupp, would direct the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to implement a statewide prescription drug monitoring program for the prescribing and dispensing of all Schedule II, III and IV controlled substances in Missouri.
“The heroin epidemic ravaging communities across Missouri can be traced largely back to the over prescription of opioids by doctors who do not have the tools or resources to track potential addicts in our state,” said Sen. Nasheed. “This bill fixes that by providing a safe and secure system that protects patients’ privacy while helping to prevent opioid abuse. I look forward to helping this bipartisan legislation make its way through the process and become law.”
Prescription opioids are chemically similar to, and act on the same areas of the brain as, heroin. As a result, many heroin users began as prescription opioid patients who became addicted to their prescription medication, and later turned to heroin to satisfy that addiction.
Currently, Missouri is the only state in the nation without a prescription drug monitoring program. By implementing a prescription drug monitoring program, Missouri health care providers can better identify potential opioid addicts and provide appropriate treatment, rather than unintentionally making matters worse by prescribing more opioids.