by Margaret Ann Ruhl, State Representative 68th Ohio House District
The drug addiction problem in Ohio is something we hear about almost everyday on the news. While it is sometimes difficult imagining this being a problem in our own neighborhoods, the reality is that prescription drug addiction exists in communities both urban and rural. My colleagues and I have been working on a series of bills that seek to address this issue head-on.
House Bill 314 requires a signed form of permission from a parent or guardian before a prescription for a controlled substance can be given to a minor. Failure of a prescriber to comply with this law could result in the suspension of his or her license as well as fines. This legislation stemmed from a fellow representative hearing about a minor who obtained a prescription for highly addictive painkillers without parental consent. Parents should be aware of the drugs their children are prescribed so that we can stop adolescent drug abuse before it has the chance to start.
House Bill 341 deals with the Ohio’s prescription monitoring system. This system tracks all scheduled drugs dispensed by pharmacies throughout the state in a system called the Ohio Automated Rx Reporting System. OARRS has proven to be a valuable tool in the battle against drug addiction. Therefore, it is important that this program be used to its full potential. While participation in the OARRS has increased, there are still many prescribers that are not using this tool. HB 341 will expand the use of OARRS by mandating a system registration and database of prescribers for two specific types of drugs: opiate analgesics and benzodiazepines. By limiting required registration to only these two drug classes, time and effort will be focused on the two types of legal drugs that are most abused.
The final bill I want to share with you is House Bill 366. This bill seeks to prevent the diversion of drugs out of hospice into the wrong hands. Leftover prescriptions are often not properly disposed of, leading to the possibility of misuse. This legislation requires hospice programs in residential settings to follow a set of best practices, which includes a written policy of procedures for the disposal of medications. If opiate drugs are not disposed of according to the policy, the hospice provider must report the violation to law enforcement.
These three bills are just a handful of those my colleagues and I have been working on in the past few years. We have a long and difficult road ahead in the battle against the drug addiction problem in Ohio, but I am hopeful that with properly crafted policies we can continue our track towards a healthier future.
