The Kentucky House of Representatives has passed both bills on its agenda for this year’s special session. House lawmakers approved both the road plan funding bill and a measure to crack down on prescription pill abuse today by wide margins. The more contentious of the two bills was the prescription pill legislation. The House and […]
Tag Archives: prescription pill abuse
Prescription Pill Bill Will Be Voted on After Veto Recess
Confusion and last-minute lobbying have potentially derailed what some Kentucky lawmakers considered the hallmark of the current legislative session. House Bill 4 is better known as the prescription pill bill. It’s centerpiece is the transfer of the KASPER drug tracking system to the attorney general’s office. Late last week, it appeared lawmakers had struck a […]
PSE, Prescription Drug Bills Head to Original Chambers for Final Passage
State lawmakers have approved two major pieces of legislation dealing with drug abuse in Kentucky. House Bill 4 tightens regulations on prescription pills. It passed the full Senate Wednesday afternoon. Around the same time, the House passed Senate Bill 3, which caps the amount of pseudoephedrine Kentuckians can buy every month without a prescription. Since both bills […]
Senate Committee Passes Prescription Pill Bill
A Kentucky Senate committee has approved a bill that aims to toughen laws against prescription pill abuse. House Bill 4 is a collaborative effort between House Speaker Greg Stumbo, Attorney General Jack Conway and Governor Steve Beshear. The bill puts the KASPER prescription tracking system under Conway’s command and requires clinics that distribute pain medications […]
House Passes Prescription Pill Bill, Hopes to Hatch a Compromise With Senate Version
A bill aimed at strengthening prescription pill tracking to crack down on abuse has cleared the Kentucky House. The measure is one of the chief priorities of House Speaker Greg Stumbo, whose work on the issue dates back to his time as attorney general. House Bill 4 would move the KASPER pill tracking system to the attorney […]
White House Drug Czar Puts Emphasis on Fighting Painkillers
The fight against prescription drug abuse has been a contentious topic in Kentucky, but it’s gaining attention from federal officials who unveiled a new plan to crackdown on so-called “pill mill” pipelines. From the AP: The federal government on Tuesday announced its first-ever comprehensive strategy to combat the abuse of oxycodone and other opioids, aiming […]
Beshear and Florida Governor to Discuss Prescription Abuse Before Congress
Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear and Florida Governor Rick Scott disagree over how best to fight prescription drug abuse, and on Thursday morning, both men will address the House Energy and Commerce Committee on the issue. Beshear and various state and federal officials have encouraged Scott to rethink his plans to cut an as-yet-unimplemented prescription pill tracking […]
Drug Czar Uses Kentucky Experience to Fight Prescription Abuse
Gil Kerlikowske visited the commonwealth last month and toured communities hit by prescription abuse. He spoke Thursday with the newly-formed congressional caucus on prescription pill abuse, which is co-chaired by Representative Hal Rogers of Kentucky.