Whitfield Statement on Kentucky Prescription Drug Bust | News | Congressman Ed Whitfield

News | Congressman Ed Whitfield | United States Representative

Whitfield Statement on Kentucky Prescription Drug Bust October 28, 2009 WASHINGTON - U.S. Representative Ed Whitfield (KY-01) issued the following statement today following news reports that federal, state and local police began arresting several suspected prescription drug dealers in Kentucky early Wednesday morning. The large roundup of alleged drug dealers is reported to be part of a major investigation of interstate pill smuggling.

"As is evident by the slew of arrests made earlier today, the abuse of prescription drugs continues to be a serious problem that plagues the Commonwealth as well as communities across the country. With an estimated 6 million Americans abusing prescription drugs, this epidemic impacts our families, children, schools and communities as a whole. Worse yet, recent studies have indicated that prescription drug abuse is on the rise across the nation, especially here in Kentucky. Over the past five years, prescription drug abuse has increased by as much as 50% in Kentucky counties. While I commend all of the local, state and federal officials for their hard work in putting many prescription drug dealers behind bars, more must be done on a national level to stop the flow of illegal prescription drugs across the country.

"Prescription drug abuse cannot be effectively addressed on a state-by-state basis; this is a national problem that must be addressed on a national scale. The United States already has in place the framework for a national program that will allow physicians and pharmacists to detect abuse and prevent the practice of doctor and pharmacy shopping across state lines - the National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Drug Reporting Act, also known as NASPER. This important program, which I was proud to author, was signed into law in 2005. It is time for this powerful weapon in the fight against prescription drug abuse to receive the federal dollars it needs to start saving lives, and I will continue my efforts to ensure NASPER receives all the funding it needs to thwart drug abuse and stop the flow of prescription drugs across the country."

NASPER, legislation first authored by Whitfield in the 108th Congress, was authorized and signed into law in August of 2005. The Omnibus Appropriations Act for 2009 included $2 million to begin the implementation of NASPER. While Whitfield was pleased the program received this money, more is needed to ensure effective implementation. An additional $2 million was recently included in the Senate Labor-HHS Appropriations bill and the Congressman is currently working to ensure this funding remains in the final conference report of the bill.

NASPER establishes a federal grant program at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HSS) to assist states in the creation, improvement or expansion of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) and to foster the sharing of prescription data electronically among states. NASPER requires HHS to promote the establishment of a uniform electronic format for the reporting and sharing of prescription data as well as uniform criteria for access to the data by healthcare professionals and law enforcement officials.

Back to headlines