LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear says a law designed to prevent prescription drug abuse has already led to four "pain management clinics" shutting their doors.
The bill requires anyone who provides controlled substances to register with the state, and pain management clinics must be owned by a licensed medical practitioner.
The governor says over 9,000 medical providers have signed up for electronic prescription monitoring, which has doubled the previous number. "The word is out," the governor said Tuesday. "Kentucky is deadly serious about stopping this scourge of prescription drug abuse, and now we have some of the strongest tools in the country to make that happen."
The state's Drug Control Policy Office says nearly 1,000 Kentuckians die every year from drug overdoses, a number that exceeds that of traffic accidents.
Addressing some people's concerns that they will not be able to obtain their legitimate medications, Beshear said, "Let's be very clear – if you need a prescription for a controlled substance for a legitimate medical condition, you have nothing to fear. You'll get your medicine...But if you're doctor-shopping, buying extra pills for recreational use, or prescribing pills for cash, you'd better change your vocation or change your location, because we're coming after you."
"Not all pain management clinics are abusing their prescribing authority – many of them are meeting legitimate patient needs," said Cabinet for Health and Family Services Secretary Audrey Tayse Haynes. "However, these regulations are designed to make it very, very difficult to stay in business if your clinic is a pill mill, prescribing high volumes of powerful drugs to people who are addicted."
Just last week, WDRB's Jennifer Baileys reported that local health officials say the number of babies born addicted to opiates or pain pills is on the rise in Louisville and surrounding areas.
To read Jennifer's story, click here.
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