JEFFERSON CITY — State Sen. Will Kraus, R–Lee’s Summit, today issued the following statement regarding the governor’s executive order, which established a drug monitoring program in Missouri:
“As a Republican, I support smaller government. I do not believe the government should be in the business of creating databases to track law-abiding citizens. The executive order signed by Gov. Greitens today does not create such a database on Missouri’s citizens, but will help combat the opioid epidemic the state and nation are facing. This executive order focuses on the prescribers and distributors of medications, such as doctors and pharmacists, who are already regulated by the state. I appreciate the governor’s efforts to find a solution to the drug monitoring issue within our state without violating the rights of everyday citizens.”
The executive order creates a program within the Department of Health and Senior Services that will analyze prescriber information for certain medications, specifically opioid medications. Those medications are the most dangerous to our society as opioid use and overdose deaths are on the rise at staggering rates. Last year alone, 900 Missourians died from opioid use.