WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) today announced that his bill, H.R. 4810, the Opioid Prescription Verification Act, will be part of a larger package of bipartisan bills that Republicans will be pushing to build on last year’s monumental legislation to address the opioid crisis (H.R. 6). Today is the anniversary of H.R. 6 being signed into law.
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H.R. 4810 was inspired by the Normal Police Department in Davis' district to help law enforcement track and stop ‘pharmacy shopping’ of opioid prescriptions which are then sold illegally. The legislation would require pharmacists to check the ID of the person picking up an opioid prescription and enter his or her information into the state's prescription drug monitoring program. This is similar to ID requirements that were placed on Sudafed sales in 2005 to combat the meth epidemic.
“I continue to meet and have conversations with law enforcement, first responders, and our medical community in the district to make sure those on the ground have the resources they need to address opioid abuse in their communities and if not, what more we can do," said Davis. "This bill came from these efforts and aims to address an issue brought to me by police officers in Normal, IL to stop 'pharmacy shopping' by helping law enforcement be able to track bad actors. I’m looking forward to hopefully passing this bipartisan bill to continue fighting this epidemic.”
“The reality of the opioid crisis is staggering. We see the numbers—the lives cut short, the resources spent—and it resonates, but to truly feel the impact of this deadly scourge you need to go to the front lines,” said Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Greg Walden (R-OR). “I’ve sat with families, visited with law enforcement, spoken to first responders, and held countless meetings in Washington, D.C., and Oregon, to witness the impact up close. I’ve learned the only way to end this epidemic is block by block, community by community. Rodney Davis is a serious legislator, committed to supporting communities in southern Illinois fight back; his legislation will help those on the front lines—because better prescription drug monitoring data will help track down bad actors and stop “pharmacy shopping”.
“The opioid epidemic is a public health crisis that’s devastating to the lives of individuals, families, and negatively impacts communities across the country," said Rick Bleichner, Chief of Police, Normal Police Department. "This afternoon’s announcement is a good example of local and federal collaboration at the legislative level to come up with commonsense solutions to impact this problem.”
Davis introduced this bill with the following cosponsors: U.S. Reps. Jeff Van Drew (D-NJ), Larry Bucshon (R-IN), John Shimkus (R-IL), and Robert Latta (R-OH).
Background
Currently, Illinois requires pharmacies to record information about the prescription recipient into the Illinois Prescription Management Program, but not the person picking up the prescription. This has led to what is known as 'pharmacy shopping' where drug dealers seek out pharmacies to fill opioid prescriptions prescribed to someone else.
This bill is the result of a meeting Davis had with the Normal Police Department where they described this problem they were seeing in the area. Click here for more information.
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