SENATE TO CONSIDER PRESCRIPTION DRUG DATABASE BILL

Legislation to create a prescription drug monitoring program would be a
beginning to help with the problem of addiction, Gadsden resident Carol
Hudson said in a hearing Tuesday in Montgomery.

Sen. Larry Means, D-Attalla, hopes a bill to establish a prescription
database to monitor the misuse of controlled substance prescriptions will
pass.

"We want something that will work," Means said. "I believe it will save
lives."

The information in the prescription database would be confidential and not
public record and would not be subject to subpoena in court proceedings,
Means said.

The bill is designed to prevent "doctor shopping" and illegal diversion of
prescriptions across state lines, Means said, emphasizing it is not designed
to stop proper use of painkillers and other drugs that are needed by people
who are fighting pain and diseases.

"This bill is designed to stop over-prescription and to save lives," he
said.

Hudson's son, Anthony, died on Christmas Day 2000 from a drug overdose.

"Unless we start something in the state, we're going to be left behind and
the more we're left behind, the more our young people will become addicted,"
Hudson said.

Hudson tells the story of her son's drug abuse that led to his death. She
works with the Operation Save Teens program, started by the Alabama
Alcoholic Beverage Control Board in 2001.

The program has reached many thousands of young people in schools across the
state, but Hudson said the monitoring program is needed to cut down on
prescription drug abuse. She said Mississippi, Florida, Virginia and
Tennessee are in the process of getting monitoring programs.

If those states begin programs, drug addicts seeking prescription drugs will
be driven to the state, making a bad problem in Alabama even worse, Hudson
said.

Means has been pushing for the prescription drug monitoring program since it
was recommended by a state task force organized in 2001 to address the
growing problem of prescription drug abuse.

A program would include prescription data for controlled substances
submitted to a central database, Means said.

The program would help prevent and detect the diversion and abuse of
controlled substances, he said.

States with prescription drug monitoring programs have the ability to
collect and analyze prescription data more efficiently than

states without such programs, Means said.

About 20 other states now have a monitoring program.

The startup of the program would cost about $300,000, which would be
available through a federal grant, Means said. If the legislation does not
become law this session, Alabama will lose the federal grant funds, Means
said.

The cost for maintenance and upkeep would be paid from a $10 fee charged
annually to medical, dental and veterinary medical practitioners licensed to
practice in Alabama and authorized to prescribe controlled substance drugs,
Means said.

The program would be administered through the Alabama Department of Public
Health, Means said.

Means served as chairman of the statewide task force.

"This is the closest we've ever come to getting a prescription drug
monitoring program," Means said. "This is a golden opportunity to fund this
program, which could save lives and cut down on abuse."

If the bill passes the Senate, it will be presented in the house by Rep.
Blaine Galliher, R-Rainbow City, who also served on the statewide task
force.

According to a national survey in 2000, an estimated 14 million Americans
were using prescription drugs illegally.

Statistics with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency show Alabama ranks third in
the distribution of hydrocodone and is 11th for prescriptions written per
capita for OxyContin.

A 40-milligram OxyContin tablet that legally sells for $4 has a street value
of $40, according to the DEA.

There is a problem across the state with the abuse of prescription drugs,
said Brantley Bishop, an agent with the Etowah County Drug Task Force.

Prescriptions are often forged, altered or illegally phoned in, he said.
"Etowah County has a problem," Bishop said. "It's not as bad as it used to
be, but it's still a big problem."