Dear Editor:
The year 2016 marks the fifth year a prescription monitoring program bill will be voted on in the Missouri House of Representatives.
The last three years it has passed easily only to get filibustered by state Sen. Rob Schaff, R-St Joseph, or had outrageous amendments added to the bill so it would not pass.
The naysayers say it is an invasion of privacy. It is interesting they voted for the same monitoring system for welfare recipients. A monitoring program will only red flag people doctor shopping which means getting many prescriptions from many doctors and using many pharmacies. It will follow Health Information Privacy Act measures. It will not make getting prescriptions for law abiding people any harder.
Missouri is the only state without this system. The Drug Enforcement Agency refers to Missouri as the pill mill of the United States. Many people with substance issues come to Missouri to get their pills.
According to Center for Disease Control, a person dies every 12 minutes in this country. In 2002, Missouri lost 416 lives. We lost 1,000 lives last year. In 2014 Cole County and Boone County had a combined 500 ambulance overdose runs.
There is no denying that the lack of a monitoring system has increased pill flow on the streets, schools and homes.
Act Missouri conducted a study that shows one out of five high school students use a prescription pill not prescribed to them. Florida enacted the last PDMP and after one year lloxycontin deaths went down 20 percent. Eighty per cent of all heroin users start with a prescription dependency.
The PDMP program has a new opponent and he is one of our own. State Rep. Jay Barnes, R-Jefferson City, believes it is an invasion of privacy. He offers a weak alternative that will not stop doctor shopping. He whips up fear of big brother to get his supporters. If you fear your grandchildren or children may use a prescription pill to cope or self medicate for stress, anxiety or depression I suggest you let Barnes know of this via email or a call.
If you wish to ask Sen. Schaff his view do not bother. He is on record for saying overdose deaths are a way of reducing the gene pool.