STOPPING DRUG ABUSE

DOUBLE DOCTORING - that is, obtaining multiple prescriptions from
several physicians for an addictive drug, like the potent painkiller
OxyContin - is illegal, but police forces in Nova Scotia and elsewhere
have found it a difficult crime to investigate.

Tracking systems for prescriptions of medical narcotics are often not
computerized. And law enforcement officials are legally limited in
their access to any incriminating information stored in individual
personal health care files.

That's why a task force in Cape Breton, fighting the rise in deaths
and crime associated with prescription drug abuse earlier this summer,
recommended that the Nova Scotia government make it easier for police
to obtain medical records in these types of investigations. Health
Minister Angus MacIsaac has already indicated he plans to table such
legislation this fall.

Similarly, a Newfoundland task force on the abuse of OxyContin in that
province recommended - in a report released last Tuesday in St. John's
- - that police be given access to confidential health files when
investigating the illegal obtaining of prescription drugs.

Under the proposal, health officials would only release information
when there is evidence of criminal activity, says Newfoundland Justice
Minister Tom Marshall. "There's a concern with respect to people's
right to privacy," added Newfoundland Health Minister Elizabeth
Marshall. "We're trying to balance that against the public good." The
government in that province says the task force's recommendation on
police access will be considered this fall.

Among the other progressive recommendations from both task forces was
a welcome call to upgrade information systems to better track
prescription records. In Nova Scotia, the government has indicated it
will address the issue of an automated monitoring system by the end of
the fiscal year.

Helping the police get a handle on prescription drug abuse - which
leads to other crimes, as addicts become desperate for cash for their
fix - is in the public interest. Giving law enforcement officials
access to medical records when investigating these illegal activities,
under clearly defined circumstances and restrictions, is clearly defensible.

The key is for the government to ensure that the language of the
enabling legislation and guidelines includes enough safeguards so that
people's right to privacy is not lightly transgressed. Because health
care records are under provincial jurisdiction, federal privacy laws
don't apply, so it's up to Nova Scotia, and other provinces, to get it
right.

Stopping the scourge of OxyContin abuse, which has resulted in at
least 20 deaths in Cape Breton and hundreds across Canada, deserves
our best efforts.