Prescription Drug Law Aims at Skyrocketing Abuse

While there are no "pill mills" operating here, the side effects of Ohio's new prescription drug law will trickle down to Strongsville, Police Chief Charles Goss said.

House Bill 93, which Gov. John Kasich signed into law in May, takes aim at pain management clinics and doctors who over-prescribe drugs, in turn giving law enforcement more clout in getting the pills off the streets.

"Even if the clinic isn't in your jurisdiction, the drug store is," Goss said. "And if the drugs are being abused for the purpose of resale, you have a secondary issue."

The increase in prescription drug abuse is staggering, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, which says the pills are responsible for more overdose deaths than “street drugs” like cocaine, heroin and amphetamines:

 • The number of emergency room visits attributable to pharmaceuticals alone is up 97 percent between 2004 and 2008.

• The number of people seeking treatment for pain reliever abuse went up more than fourfold between 1998 and 2008.

• In 2009, there were 7 million Americans aged 12 years and older who abused prescription drugs for non-medical purposes within the past month, up from 6.2 million in 2008 -- a 13 percent jump in one year.

"It's one of those offenses that a lot of times goes under the radar," Goss said.

House Bill 93 was prompted by a situation in southern Ohio in which doctors in Scioto County prescribed 9.7 million pills for a population of 79,000 people last year.

The region has gotten national attention for its prescription drug abuse and spurred the state to investigate. 

Authorities say there has been a growing number of overdoses of oxycodone and other drugs in recent years, and it's not just pill-popping. Users often crush the pain pills and snort them -- or mix them with water and inject them -- for a high.

Unintentional drug overdoses have been Ohio's leading cause of accidental death since 2007, officials said.

The new law requires pain management clinics to obtain a license with the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy, and would have to prove they are owned and operated by a physician, with employees subject to criminal background checks.