DiGirolamo calls for investigation into prescription abuse problem
HARRISBURG — As prescription drug abuse spikes across the nation, state Rep. Gene DiGirolamo is calling on the state attorney general to lead an aggressive push to address the problem in Pennsylvania.
DiGirolamo, R-Bensalem, announced Thursday he has authored a resolution requesting that Attorney General Kathleen Kane tackle prescription drug abuse on several fronts, including investigating financial incentives throughout supply chains and seeking damages from drug manufacturers and distributors.
“We do not have to look far to see the escalating numbers of people dying from overdoses of painkillers and other opioids,” said DiGirolamo, who chairs the House Human Services Committee. “Sadly, more and more of us are being touched by this epidemic.”
More Americans now die from drug overdoses than motor vehicle crashes, with at least 38,000 drug-induced deaths reported in 2010, or 105 per day, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. Common narcotic painkillers were tied to 16,500 of those deaths.
DiGirolamo’s resolution targets the abuse of prescription opioids, pain relievers that have morphine-like effects such as OxyContin and Percocet.
Opioid prescriptions have skyrocketed throughout the U.S. in recent years, and chronic non-medial cure of prescription opioids has spiked 75 percent in the past decade, DiGirolamo said.
“Even more tragic is the startling fact that the manufacturers of these prescriptions are profiting from this epidemic,” DiGirolamo said, “and until those who produce these drugs and profit from their use are held accountable, there is no incentive for these companies to be socially responsible and bring an end to these senseless and tragic overdoses.”
Kane considers dealing with the state’s prescription drug abuse problem a priority, attorney general spokesman Joe Peters said. Peters hasn’t yet reviewed the details of DiGirolamo’s resolution, but he said Kane and her team would welcome suggestions.
“We commend Chairman DiGirolamo for his leadership and his commitment to addressing this issue,” Peters said. “We’re always open to new ideas and particularly to work with the Legislature on new ideas.”
Peters, a former Scranton police officer who previously headed the state’s Bureau of Narcotics Investigations, echoed DiGirolamo’s concerns about the link between the rise in prescription drug abuse and use of heroin, with heroin often times the cheaper alternative.
“There is a tendency among users to migrate back and forth between prescription drugs and illicit drugs and that can depend on availability, that could depend on cost, that could depend on potency,” Peters said. “Some of the opioids are similar to heroin, so one can fuel the other.”
DiGirolamo wants the attorney general’s office to audit the movement, prescription, sale and effects of prescription opioids as they pass through online pharmacies and all aspects of private and public supply chains.
He’s also asking the office to review financial incentives and prescribing, pricing and reporting practices, and to develop a plan to recover damages from drug manufacturers and distributors. He calls for establishing the Pennsylvania Opioid Recovery fund to help those struggling with addiction get treatment.
DiGirolamo’s new resolution follows several recent efforts to deal with prescription drug abuse in Pennsylvania.
DiGirolamo has authored House Bill 317, which would create a prescription drug registry to help prevent patients from shopping doctors and pharmacies to abuse addictive drugs. He also introduced House Bill 1627, which would create a “Good Samaritan” law protecting those who call for medical help when a person has overdosed.
Gov. Tom Corbett addressed prescription drug abuse as part of his “Healthy Pennsylvania” reform plan he unveiled Monday. Corbett said he supports enhancing the prescription drug monitoring program and called for reducing the criminal diversion of prescription drugs.
“The proposed development of a controlled substance database would aid health care teams in determining if a person in their exam room or in the emergency department is drug-seeking,” Dr. Richard Schott, president of the Pennsylvania Medical Society, said in a speech lauding Corbett’s plan.
The governor also said he wants to partner with local law enforcement to launch a statewide drug take-back program.
Such programs already exist in certain localities. Bucks County, for instance, has collected 11 tons of prescription medications at take-back events since September 2010, according to Lambert Tolbert, program specialist for the Bucks County Drug and Alcohol Commission. The county also has more than 25 permanent drop boxes at police stations and municipalities for residents to dispose of unused or unwanted medications safely.
Natasha Lindstrom: 267.966.8937; email: nlindstrom@calkins.com; Twitter: @NewsNatasha.
Natasha Lindstrom may be reached at nlindstrom@calkins.com.