GOVERNOR TOMBLIN SIGNS SUBSTANCE ABUSE BILL

Governor travels the state to announce his response to drug crisis
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Today Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin visited Prestera Center in Huntington, Bond's Pharmacy in Lubeck and Patterson's Drug Store in Martinsburg to discuss his groundbreaking new substance abuse legislation."Prescription drug abuse in our state is a pervasive problem with tragic consequences," said Gov. Tomblin. "We have lost far too many of our fellow West Virginians to drug overdoses, and drug addiction leads to other crimes like robberies and home invasions. That's why I fought so hard for this new law. It cracks down hard on the underlying causes of our state's drug crisis. I'm proud that we're tackling this problem head-on, and I'm confident that this legislation will save lives."Senate Bill 437 includes the following critical reforms:
New prescriptions will be recorded in a statewide database within 24 hours of being dropped off, to stop patients from collecting duplicate prescriptions from different doctors;
West Virginia will impose the nation's strictest yearly purchasing limit for pseudoephedrine, the key ingredient in meth;

Consumer protections against illegitimate online pharmacies will be strengthened.