Drug Bills Passed

After being passed through the Senate last week, Senate Bills 365 and 81 went up against the House of Delegates yesterday and were accepted by a 97-0 vote with three absences. These bills will attempt to control prescription drug fraud and abuse. Senate Bill 365 will allow pharmacists to access the West Virginia Controlled Substance Monitoring Database. The House amended Senate Bill 81, requiring that any paper used for writing prescriptions must be tamper-resistant. Through these bills the state is estimated to save between 10 and 25 million dollars annually. Six other pieces of legislation were introduced by Senators Evan Jenkins and Ron Stollings. All were aimed at prescription drug abuse. Three of those six are still alive.