KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri is the only state in the country without a statewide prescription drug monitoring program. But legislation passed in the Missouri Senate Tuesday could change that.
The Missouri Senate passed legislation on Tuesday to create a statewide prescription drug monitoring program in an effort to stop opioid abuse.
The measure, S.B. 63, would create an electronic database, which only physicians and patients would have access to, that would track controlled substances prescribed by a doctor or pharmacist.
Under the current proposal, information would be stored for three years and could not be used in a search warrant or as a means to prevent an individual from owning a firearm.
“It’s really hard to understand just how fast things can get out of hand," Mollee Flores, a recovery coach at Amethyst Place, said. "So any type of deterrent can be a positive."
Amethyst Place helps women who are recovering from addiction by providing them with counseling, housing and helping reunite them with their children.
Flores said the prescription drug monitoring program could be a good step in the “right direction,” by helping prevent some individuals from becoming addicted to pain pills.
“The disease of addiction does not discriminate at all," she said. "It affects people you wouldn’t even think are affected by it. Any deterrent is better than none.”
The proposal now goes to the Missouri House.
