Prescription drug abuse is endemic across America, resulting in 27,000 deaths annually. New York's top law enforcer thinks there is a solution.
State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman unveiled a bill dubbed "I-STOP" one year ago, a proposed law he hopes can be approved by both houses of the Legislature and signed into law by Governor Cuomo in the coming months.
I-STOP, an acronym for Internet System for Tracking Overprescribing, establishes an online database that allows doctors and pharmacists to report and track certain controlled narcotics in real time.
The Attorney General, speaking at the Kids Escaping Drugs Foundation in West Seneca Tuesday, contends his legislation would crack down on abuses such as "doctor shopping" for prescription forgeries.
"Prescription drugs are not like drugs that are cooked up in the backyard. They start as legal products. There are channels we can identify. There should be a way for us to get a handle on them and stop the flood of these dangerous, addictive drugs into all of our communities. It's infected every corner of our state and here in Buffalo it's reached epidemic proportions," said Schneiderman.
Schneiderman says inaction on prescription drug abuse is not an option. He expressed confidence that "I-STOP" legislation will be approved in Albany in the coming months.