Ohio bill targets prescription painkiller abuse

COLUMBUS (AP) — Lawmakers are addressing Ohio’s widespread prescription painkiller abuse problem through restrictions on pain-management clinics accused of dispensing drugs on demand.

A bill up for a vote today in the Senate Health, Human Services and Aging Committee would for the first time require the State Board of Pharmacy to license such clinics as distributors of dangerous drugs.

The legislation would impose fines on clinics operating without such licenses and require criminal background checks for clinic employees.

The bill also limits the ability of clinic doctors to personally dispense painkillers they prescribe for patients.

Accidental drug overdoses driven by prescription painkiller abuse have surpassed car crashes as the leading cause of accidental deaths in Ohio.