Utah Legislature: House approves prescription drug abuse bills

SALT LAKE CITY — Two of several bills targeting the state's fastest-growing drug problem — prescription drug abuse — were approved in the House Tuesday morning even though they require some spending up front.

Any bill that comes with a price tag is a red flag to lawmakers, who are bent on saving money — not spending more — because of a $700 million revenue shortfall.

Rep. Brad Daw, R-Orem, sponsor of HB28 and HB35, said the net expense of the legislation designed to curb what he considers a "crisis of abuse" among prescription drug users is minuscule compared with the good it will do.

HB28, which improves the state's ability to track controlled substances such as painkillers in an attempt to stop "doctor shopping" for prescriptions, has a net cost of $3,100 over the next three years, Daw said prior to the bills' coming before fellow House members.

"I'm very aware of the financial constraints this year, and I have the most sincere respect for those who oversee appropriations, but $3,100 net spending to curb a problem that is causing 4,000 overdoses a year in Utah and wreaking havoc in families and neighborhoods and communities statewide, is that too much to ask?"

Daw has been trying to put "a halo of awareness" on the problem since he was elected in 2004.

The legislation does that, as well as makes the monitoring of prescription usage through the state's Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing database more real-time and more user-friendly, he said.

Anyone who has ever used, become dependent on or addicted to pain medications knows "they are a bear" to quit, he added. Recent prescription overdose deaths and a spate of pharmacy holdups in which robbers took painkillers but left the cash are signs of how powerful addiction is, he said, and are a clear indication that lawmakers can no longer ignore a public safety problem that is not about to go away.

The bills now move to the Senate for consideration.

e-mail: jthalman@desnews.com