S.C.R. 2 Enrolled

1

REDUCING PRESCRIPTION DRUG MISUSE
2 RESOLUTION
3 2010 GENERAL SESSION
4 STATE OF UTAH
5 Chief Sponsor: Patricia W. Jones
6 House Sponsor: Trisha S. Beck
7
8 LONG TITLE
9 General Description:
10 This concurrent resolution of the Legislature and the Governor urges consumers,
11 doctors, pharmacists, health insurers, employers, government agencies, parents, and
12 Utahns generally to take specific steps to reduce prescription drug misuse and
13 addiction.
14 Highlighted Provisions:
15 This resolution:
16 . urges various groups to take specific steps to:
17 . improve the effectiveness of education and risk assessment before a
18 prescription is issued;
19 . improve the effectiveness of disposal and monitoring of use after a prescription
20 is issued; and
21 . increase the availability and use of treatment programs.
22 Special Clauses:
23 None
24
25 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah, the Governor concurring therein:
26 WHEREAS, the retention and storage of an unused portion of a drug prescription
27 increases the likelihood that the drug will fall into the hands of someone other than the
28 intended patient through theft or other means and be misused;
29 WHEREAS, misuse of prescription drugs can lead to dependency, addiction, and

30 death;
31 WHEREAS, addiction to prescription drugs can be just as devastating to individuals,
32 families, and communities as addiction to illicit drugs;
33 WHEREAS, Utah deaths from prescription misuse are on the rise, increasing from 50
34 deaths in 1999 to over 300 deaths in 2007;
35 WHEREAS, more effective education and assessment of risk before a prescription is
36 issued and more effective disposal and monitoring of use after the prescription is issued could
37 do much to help individuals avoid both the unintentional and intentional misuse of
38 prescription drugs;
39 WHEREAS, greater availability and use of treatment programs could reduce deaths
40 due to prescription drug addiction; and
41 WHEREAS, doctors, pharmacists, health insurers, employers, government agencies,
42 family members, and others are each in a position to improve education, risk assessment,
43 disposal, monitoring, or treatment:
44 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the State of Utah, the
45 Governor concurring therein, urge individuals, as consumers of prescription drugs, to assume
46 the primary responsibility for the proper use, safe storage, and disposal of any drug prescribed
47 to them, to encourage their doctors and pharmacists to provide adequate instruction on how to
48 fulfill those responsibilities, and to ensure that their doctors are aware of all other medications
49 and substances with which a prescribed drug might interact.
50 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor urge individuals
51 to clean out their medicine cabinets routinely, and at least annually, and that they properly
52 dispose of the unused portions of any drug prescriptions, in accordance with guidelines
53 published by the federal Office of National Drug Control Policy at
54 http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/pdf/prescrip_disposal.pdf, by taking the
55 drugs to a community drop-off site or hazardous waste collection event listed at
56 http://www.medicationdisposal.utah.gov/disposal_locations_events.htm#hhhw, flushing the
57 drugs down the sink or toilet only when specifically instructed to do so on the prescription

58 drug label, or by removing personal information from the drug container, mixing the unused
59 drugs with an undesirable substance like cat litter, and disposing of the mixture in a sealed
60 container, along with the original container, in the trash.
61 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor urge doctors, as
62 prescribers of prescription drugs, to take whatever time is necessary when a drug is prescribed
63 to ensure that the patient understands how to safely use the drug, including the potential for
64 dangerous interactions with other medications and substances, how to safely store and dispose
65 of any unused portion of the prescription, including how to protect family members and others
66 from any unintentional or intentional misuse of the drug, how to recognize and report to the
67 prescriber any signs of dependency or addiction, and the legal prohibitions on sharing or
68 selling any portion of the prescription.
69 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor urge doctors to
70 assess each patient's risk for misuse, dependency, or addiction before prescribing a drug, to
71 use the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing's controlled substance database
72 whenever appropriate to assess patient risk, and where risk is significant, to use medication
73 management agreements when appropriate to educate patients, promote compliance with
74 prescribing orders, and reduce the risk of misuse and addiction.
75 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor urge
76 pharmacists, as dispensers of prescription drugs, to encourage patients at the time of
77 dispensing to receive verbal instructions from the pharmacist on how to safely use the
78 prescribed drug, including the potential for dangerous interactions with other medications and
79 substances, how to safely store and dispose of any unused portion of the prescription,
80 including how to protect family members and others from any unintentional or intentional
81 misuse of the drug, how to recognize any signs of dependency or addiction and the importance
82 of reporting those signs to the prescriber, and the legal prohibitions on sharing or selling any
83 portion of the prescription.
84 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor urge pharmacists
85 to use as frequently as possible the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing's

86 controlled substance database to reduce the risk of misuse and addiction, and to ensure that
87 prescribers are aware of any concerns pharmacists may have about particular patients.
88 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor urge health
89 insurers, as managers of prescription drug plans, to structure contracts with doctors and
90 pharmacists in ways that encourage providers to educate patients on the safe use, storage, and
91 disposal of prescription drugs, and to evaluate prescription drug purchasing patterns of
92 insureds and the prescribing and dispensing patterns of providers and, as appropriate, alert
93 insureds, doctors, pharmacists, or the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing of
94 any concerns about misuse or addiction.
95 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor urge employers,
96 as payers for health insurance, to encourage health insurers to offer health plans that include
97 coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of prescription drug addiction, to offer their
98 employees health insurance or employee assistance programs that help pay for the diagnosis
99 and treatment of prescription drug addiction, and to encourage employees suspected of
100 prescription drug addiction to seek professional help.
101 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor urge the Division
102 of Occupational and Professional Licensing, as a regulator of prescription drug prescribers, to
103 enhance its capacity to analyze the controlled substance database and alert doctors and
104 pharmacists of patients that may be addicted to or misusing prescription drugs, and to
105 continue developing the controlled substance database so that eventually the database is
106 updated immediately when a drug is dispensed and doctors and pharmacists have 24-hour
107 access to the information.
108 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor urge the Division
109 of Occupational and Professional Licensing, as division resources permit, to survey doctors,
110 pharmacists, and patients to determine whether patients are receiving appropriate instructions
111 on the safe use, storage, and disposal of prescription drugs, potential drug interactions, and the
112 signs and reporting of dependency and addiction, and whether patients are being cautioned
113 about sharing and selling prescription drugs.

114 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor urge other
115 federal, state, and local government agencies, as entities created to protect the public, to
116 continue working on their own and through multi-agency projects like the Utah Prescription
117 Pain Medication Management and Education Program and the Utah Pharmaceutical Drug
118 Crime Project to reduce prescription drug misuse, addiction, and death, to continue developing
119 campaigns like "Use Only as Directed" and "Clean out the Cabinet" to educate the public
120 about the dangers of prescription drug misuse and to promote the disposal of partially-used
121 prescriptions, to continue developing drop-off sites and other secure and environmentally
122 friendly methods for disposing of unused prescription drugs, and to continue promoting the
123 availability and use of programs that treat prescription drug addiction.
124 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor urge parents, as
125 children's most important source of education and protection, to minimize the availability of
126 prescription drugs in their homes by disposing of partially used prescriptions and properly
127 securing currently used prescriptions, and to provide their children with age-appropriate
128 instruction on the proper use, storage, and disposal of prescription drugs, including legal
129 prohibitions on the sharing and selling of prescription drugs.
130 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor urge each citizen
131 of this state, as responsible individuals concerned for the welfare of others, to encourage one
132 another to use prescription drugs responsibly and to seek treatment for addiction when
133 necessary, and to lend support to school and community education efforts to prevent misuse
134 and addiction.
135 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of the resolution be sent to the Utah
136 Medical Association, the Utah Pharmacists Association, the Utah Food Industry Association,
137 the Utah Retail Merchants Association, the Utah Health Insurance Association, the Employers
138 Council, the ERISA Industry Committee, the National Federation of Independent Business, the
139 Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, the Utah Department of Human
140 Services, the Utah Department of Health, the Utah Association of Local Health Departments,
141 and the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

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