Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin applauded the House Health, Education and Welfare Committee for the unanimous passage of H7518, filed at his request and sponsored by Chairman Joseph M. McNamara (D., District 19 – Warwick, Cranston). The bill will now be sent to the full House of Representatives for consideration.
The legislation would amend section RIGL 21-28-3.32 ("electronic prescription database") to provide local, state and federal law enforcement and prosecutorial officials engaged in the administration, investigation or enforcement of laws governing prescription drugs access to the prescription drug monitoring database (PDMP) if the request is in connection with a bona fide specific controlled substance or additional drug-related investigation.
The request for access to a PDMP, operated by the Rhode Island Department of Health, will be limited to those instances where there is an active investigation of illegal drug diversion.
"Rhode Island continues to lead the nation in illicit drug use, and we have been in the eye of the storm of heroin, fentanyl, and prescription opiate overdoses. While State leaders recognize that we need a comprehensive approach to addressing the problem, which includes access to naloxone, increasing support for recovery programs, and prosecuting drug traffickers, we cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that much of this crisis has been borne out of the diversion of prescription drugs for illicit purposes," said Attorney General Kilmartin.
"Access contemplated in this bill will remove an unnecessary restriction on federal and state law enforcement's ability to investigate criminal prescription drug prescribing and illegal prescription drug diversion. It will also correct a statute enacted in 2013, which unnecessarily restricted investigations," he added.
Thirty states, including neighboring Massachusetts and Connecticut, have similar laws giving law enforcement the access to the PDMP for criminal investigations without the use of a search warrant.
The PDMP Center of Excellence at Brandeis University cites the standard this legislation seeks as a best practice for law enforcement in curbing illicit narcotics activities, specifically the illegal diversion of prescription drugs.
"I applaud Chairman McNamara and the Committee for recognizing the need to attack the opioid addiction and overdose crisis from all angles, and for giving law enforcement the tools they need to stop organized doctor shopping gangs and pill mills."
A companion bill is sponsored in the Senate by Senator William J. Conley, Jr. (D., District 18 – East Providence, Pawtucket).