BITTER PILLS

IN THE fight to prevent prescription drug abuse, state lawmakers
should listen to their pharmacists, specifically Sen. Buddy Carter and
Rep. Ron Stephens.

Both of these elected officials from Chatham County are licensed
pharmacists. They recognize the need for a statewide database to track
individuals who have been prescribed Schedule II or III substances -
legal drugs most commonly abused - and those who are doing the
prescribing.

At present, Georgia is the only state in the Southeast that has no
such database. The absence of such a tool makes the Peach State nearly
helpless at preventing prescription drug addicts and dealers from
crossing state lines to get multiple prescriptions filled.

Ditto for those who live in-state. Through doctor shopping and duping
multiple pharmacists, abusers are able to obtain heavy-duty narcotics,
such as oxycodone.

A digital database would be a big help in two ways. First, it would
assist pharmacists in withholding prescription meds from addicts and
dealers who trick several physicians into prescribing pills for the
same ailment.

Second, a statewide database would help the Georgia Board of Pharmacy
flag the doctor's offices that are handing out prescriptions like
candy. Then authorities could single them out for investigation.

These two steps should help curtail street dealing in prescription
drugs. That's a growing problem, according to the Chatham-Savannah
Counter Narcotics Team, and police agencies statewide. It's simple
economics. Some versions of oxycodone have a street value of $80 a
pill.

It's an issue that deserves no less attention than methamphetamine
abuse. Addiction experts say the prescription opioids can be just as
difficult to kick, if not more so.

Pharmacists and police agencies are rightly frustrated. Where meth
labs may be hidden in the woods, this venue for illegally obtaining
drugs is right out in the open. The thing needed to fight the abuse -
a statewide database - is easy and inexpensive to set up.

There is even a federal grant to cover the costs. Georgia has already
qualified for the money, but can't accept it because the state has no
law implementing the program. Both Rep. Stephens and Sen. Carter have
worked to pass legislation for the past couple of years.
Unfortunately, most lawmakers have balked.

The major hang-up in the legislature has been over patient privacy,
but this concern is addressed in the legislation. The measure gives
the prescription drug registry the same doctor-patient confidentiality
as other medical documents.

Mr. Carter's bill would also disallow any improper "fishing trips" by
law enforcement agencies. Police agencies would have to have a
subpoena requesting information in relation to a specific case before
the Pharmacy Board could release details.

Lives and families can be destroyed just as easily by addiction to
prescription painkillers as by addiction to cocaine or meth. By
failing to act, the Georgia legislature allows a treatable sickness to
fester. When the General Assembly reconvenes in January, lawmakers
should provide a remedy.