Health News
Kentucky's new prescription drug law may be having its desired effect of taking prescription painkillers off the streets, but could be forcing those very same addicts into using heroin. That's the view of Covington Police Chief Spike Jones, who took his case to the state Senate Judiciary Committee last week to complain about increased crime in his area and to ask for some money for help.
The drug law passed in April 2012, designated House Bill 1, requires Kentucky doctors to complete patients' medical histories, conduct physicals, check photo identifications and run names through the state's KASPER (Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting) database before prescribing a controlled substance for pain relief. It has required a vast network of oversight of doctors and patients by government and licensing entities. This has reportedly caused some doctors to stop writing those prescriptions completely.
Tiffany Wilson of Cincinnati's WKRC-TV reports that Chief Jones reports more prostitution, theft, car thefts and car break-ins in his northern Kentucky region. He asked the state legislature for money to research how deep the problem is and to discuss the need for more treatment facilities.
Jones pointed to the recent closure of the pain management clinic of Dr. Gary Shearer in Florence as adding to the problem. Shearer's license was suspended following the death of 15 patients from prescription-drug overdoses. These patients, Jones told Wilson, are exactly the ones at risk for taking the next step and turning to heroin. He added that heroin dealers will often give potential customers the first hit for free, "and from that point, there's no returning to prescription pills." (Read more)
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- Legislation To Fight Pill Mills Will Need To Strike Balance Between Law Enforcement And Medicine, Panelists On Tv Show Make Clear
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Health News
Covington police chief: New prescription-drug law has unintended consequence of encouraging pain pill addicts to use heroin, commit crimes
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| Black tar heroin |
The drug law passed in April 2012, designated House Bill 1, requires Kentucky doctors to complete patients' medical histories, conduct physicals, check photo identifications and run names through the state's KASPER (Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting) database before prescribing a controlled substance for pain relief. It has required a vast network of oversight of doctors and patients by government and licensing entities. This has reportedly caused some doctors to stop writing those prescriptions completely.
Tiffany Wilson of Cincinnati's WKRC-TV reports that Chief Jones reports more prostitution, theft, car thefts and car break-ins in his northern Kentucky region. He asked the state legislature for money to research how deep the problem is and to discuss the need for more treatment facilities.
Jones pointed to the recent closure of the pain management clinic of Dr. Gary Shearer in Florence as adding to the problem. Shearer's license was suspended following the death of 15 patients from prescription-drug overdoses. These patients, Jones told Wilson, are exactly the ones at risk for taking the next step and turning to heroin. He added that heroin dealers will often give potential customers the first hit for free, "and from that point, there's no returning to prescription pills." (Read more)
- More Treatment Needed To Deal With Painkiller Abuse, Expert Witness Tells Senate Caucus; Mcconnell Says Jail Helps, Too
Addiction to prescription painkillers, and increased addiction to heroin by people originally hooked on prescription medicine, is "a public health disaster of catastrophic proportions" that "was caused by the medical community," the chief medical officer...
- As Heroin Use Increases In Kentucky, New Report Shows Its Strong Connections To Abusers Of Prescription Pain Medicines
Kentucky's law-enforcement agences, policymakers and public-health advocates have taken serious measures to curb the state's rampant prescription drug abuse problem, and recent state and national news stories suggest that the reduced supply of...
- House Panel Approves Bill Easing Rules Of 2012's Pill-mill Bill
They could call it the pill they're taking to fix the pill-mill bill. A state House committee approved a bill Tuesday that would tweak last year's legislation aimed at cracking down on prescription drug abuse through doctor shopping and "pill...
- Legislation To Fight Pill Mills Will Need To Strike Balance Between Law Enforcement And Medicine, Panelists On Tv Show Make Clear
By Tara Kaprowy Kentucky Health News The legislation meant to crack down on so-called "pill mills" will turn on striking a balance between thwarting prescription drug abuse and making sure doctors and patients don't feel their hands are tied, it became...
- Lawmakers Hear Testimony About State's Pill Mill Problem, Discuss Whether To Put All Prescription-drug Issues Into One Bill
With a raid on a pain clinic in Paintsville making headlines yesterday morning, state legislators heard from community leaders and officials telling them to pass legislation to curb the proliferation of pill mills. Lois Windhorst, best known as a leader...