Prescription Drug Abuse Law Facing Criticism

Enlarge image

While Governor Steve Beshear is touting Kentucky’s new prescription drug abuse law, critics complain that the law's negative effects are being ignored. House Bill 1 requires doctors to meet stringent medical standards before prescribing controlled substances and mandates use of the KASPER drug tracking system.

Gregory Hood is governor of the Kentucky American College of Physicians. He tells the Courier-Journal that the law has led to lengthy doctor-patient agreements and prevented doctors from treating as many patients. Other critics say some doctors are denying legitimate prescriptions to patients because the new law is burdensome. But Beshear says state physicians failed to address the drug abuse problem before the law was in place, which led to higher prescription prices and deaths.