June 14, 2012

Manchin Fights for Measure to Help Prevent Prescription Drug Abuse in House-Senate Compromise Bill

Manchin’s bipartisan amendment makes addictive hydrocodone harder to get for illegitimate reasons

Manchin’s measure was adopted unanimously in Senate vote on FDA bill, is now being negotiated with House of Representatives

Washington, D.C. – As Senate and House negotiators iron out a compromise on a bill to fund the FDA, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is fighting to keep his amendment to make it more difficult to get hydrocodone illegitimately. 

In a floor speech this afternoon, Senator Manchin urged negotiators of a House-Senate compromise of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act to support his amendment that would make hydrocodone a Schedule II drug. This provision was unanimously added to the Senate version of the legislation on May 23, but was not included in the House bill. 

“As we speak, negotiations are ongoing between the House and the Senate on a compromise version of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act. The Senate version contains my amendment, and the House version does not. So we’re fighting as hard as we can to make sure this amendment is included in the final bill,” Senator Manchin said. “Since the proud moment when the Senate unanimously passed my hydrocodone rescheduling amendment, it has come under fire from groups who seem to think that trying to limit the number of hydrocodone pills making their way into our communities – and oftentimes, into the wrong hands – is a bad idea because it affects their bottom lines. 

“Now, I recognize that this amendment does not fit into the business model of selling as many pills as possible. But with that being said, I believe we have a responsibility to this great nation of ours – especially to our children and the generations to come – to win this war on prescription drugs. And right now, hydrocodone is one of the most abused substances out there.”

Senator Manchin addressed concerns that have been raised about the measure, saying he would bring people together around a commonsense compromise.  

“And I have said to those groups, let’s work together on a compromise that can address your legitimate concerns,” Senator Manchin said. “If anyone has a concern with this amendment, just come to me and we will try to work it out. And we have already offered a number of compromises to different groups in an effort to get this thing passed and signed into law.” 

Moving hydrocodone to a Schedule II drug means that patients would need a new prescription to get their pills refilled. Pills would be stored and transported more securely, and traffickers would be subject to increased fines and penalties.  

A list of groups who support the bill are attached. 

Background on prescription drug abuse:

  • Prescription drug abuse is responsible for about 75 percent of drug-related deaths in the United States – and 90 percent in West Virginia. 

  • According to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, prescription drug abuse is the fastest growing drug problem in the United States, and it’s claiming the lives of thousands of Americans every year. 

  • According to a report issued by the Centers for Disease Control in November, the death toll from overdoses of prescription painkillers has more than tripled in the past decade. 

  • The finding shows that more than 40 people die every day from overdoses involving narcotic pain relievers like hydrocodone, methadone, oxycodone, and oxymorphone. These prescription painkillers are responsible for more deaths than heroin and cocaine combined. 

Broadcast-quality video is available here: 

FTP:
HD Version – http://sdmc-media.senate.gov.s3.amazonaws.com/Manchin/061412_MANCHIN_1_FTP.M2T
SD Version – http://sdmc-media.senate.gov.s3.amazonaws.com/Manchin/061412_MANCHIN_1_FTP.MPG

Pathfire: 
Instructions for accessing Pathfire are available here:  http://democrats.senate.gov/tv/pathfire/manchin.pdf

HD Version – HD WV Manchin Prescription Drug Abuse
SD Version – WV Manchin Prescription Drug Abuse

Audio:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/sdmc-media.senate.gov/Manchin/061412_MANCHIN_1_AUDIO.mp3

The full text of Senator Manchin’s speech is included below: 

M. President, I rise today to speak about a very important provision that I believe will truly help each and every one of us – every Senator and every Congressman from all 50 states – accomplish something meaningful when it comes to fighting the prescription drug abuse epidemic that is plaguing communities all over this great nation. 

Less than a month ago, I was so proud when the Senate came together to unanimously support an amendment I offered with Senators Mark Kirk, Kirsten Gillibrand, Chuck Schumer and Jay Rockefeller that would make it far more difficult to abuse addictive pain medication by reclassifying drugs containing hydrocodone as Schedule II substances. 

Let me explain what this means, in practical terms. Moving hydrocodone to a Schedule II drug means that patients would need an original prescription to get their pills refilled. Pills would be stored and transported more securely, and traffickers would be subject to increased fines and penalties.  

As we speak, negotiations are ongoing between the House and the Senate on a compromise version of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act. The Senate version contains my amendment, and the House version does not. So we’re fighting as hard as we can to make sure this amendment is included in the final bill. 

Last month, I stood here on the Senate floor and shared the stories I have heard in communities across West Virginia about why this amendment is so urgently needed. Prescription drug abuse is responsible for about 75 percent of drug-related deaths in the United States – and 90 percent in West Virginia. According to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, prescription drug abuse is the fastest growing drug problem in the United States, and it’s claiming the lives of thousands of Americans every year. 

But no statistic can illustrate the scope of this problem like hearing the pleas of children who are begging their leaders to do something to get drugs out of their communities. Children like those I met in Wyoming County, West Virginia last October, where more than 120 people have died from drug overdoses in the past seven years, including 41 in 2011 and 12 just this year. 

M. President, since that proud moment when the Senate unanimously passed my hydrocodone rescheduling amendment, it has come under fire from groups who seem to think that trying to limit the number of hydrocodone pills making their way into our communities – and oftentimes, into the wrong hands – is a bad idea because it affects their bottom lines. 

Now, I recognize that this amendment does not fit into the business model of selling as many pills as possible. But with that being said, I believe we have a responsibility to this great nation of ours – especially to our children and the generations to come – to win this war on prescription drugs. And right now, hydrocodone is one of the most abused substances out there. 

I don’t think I have talked to a person who does not recognize that each and every state is experiencing horrible problems with prescription drug abuse. And the facts bear that out. 

According to a report issued by the Centers for Disease Control in November, the death toll from overdoses of prescription painkillers has more than tripled in the past decade. The finding shows that more than 40 people die every day from overdoses involving narcotic pain relievers like hydrocodone, methadone, oxycodone, and oxymorphone. These prescription painkillers are responsible for more deaths than heroin and cocaine combined. 

Yet still, we are hearing from some folks who just don’t believe that rescheduling hydrocodone is a good idea. And I have said to those groups, let’s work together on a compromise that can address your legitimate concerns. If anyone has a concern with this amendment, just come to me and we will try to work it out. And we have already offered a number of compromises to different groups in an effort to get this thing passed and signed into law. 

I want to clarify some of those concerns. We’ve heard from some with concerns that making hydrocodone a Schedule II drug would mean that patients with a legitimate need for these medications would face increased hurdles to obtaining them, and that those patients would have to visit the doctor more often. 

To them, I would say the following: look at what the DEA did in 2007 to reduce burdens facing patients when it comes to refills. They finalized a new rule allowing doctors to provide individual patients with a 90-day supply of any Schedule II medication by issuing three separate prescriptions -- one for an immediate supply and two additional prescriptions that cannot be filled until a certain specified date. If they receive a 90-day supply, patients would only need to visit their doctors four times per year, and if they have a chronic ailment, I would think those patients would want that type of evaluation anyway. That makes all the sense in the world to me. 

If a practitioner is prescribing medication as part of the usual course of professional practice and for a legitimate medical purpose, there is no numerical limitation on the quantity they can prescribe. Federal law does not limit physicians to providing only a 30-day supply of medication; the amount prescribed and length of treatment is within each doctor’s discretion. 

We’ve also heard from those who are worried that pharmacies could face increased operating costs caused by new storage requirements, as well as increased paperwork. But there is no difference in federal storage requirements between Schedule III and Schedule II drugs. Federal law requires that all controlled substances be stored in securely locked, substantially constructed cabinets. As for more paperwork, pharmacies are already doing paperwork on their current Schedule II drug orders. All this amendment would require is including an additional line on the existing form that specifies how many hydrocodone combination pills they are ordering. 

The bottom line is, we have to recognize that this is a very, very addictive drug. As a Schedule III drug, hydrocodone is very available to people who might use it for an illicit reason. All we are saying is, give us a chance to protect some of the most vulnerable people we have, people who are addicted to these prescription drugs. 

Look at all the people who support this amendment – the folks who are out there on the front lines trying to keep our society safe and fight the war on drugs. We have groups like:

  • The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP)
  • The National District Attorney’s Association
  • The National Narcotic Officers’ Associations’ Coalition (NNOAC)
  • The National Troopers Coalition
  • The American Society of Addiction Medicine
  • The National Association of Drug & Alcohol Interventionists
  • The West Virginia Medical Professionals Health Program
  • Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing
  • The Drug Free America Foundation, Inc.
  • The National Coalition Against Prescription Drug Abuse (NCAPDA)
  • And the Prevention Partnership

These people on the front lines are saying this amendment is needed, and that will help them immensely. These are the people who are out there helping society. 

We’re willing to sit down and work with people if they have legitimate concerns. But if your concern is that this amendment interrupts your business plan, I would hope you would rise above your business plan and be an American first. What we are trying to do is good for this country, for generations to come, and for our quality of life as Americans.

I am not trying to put anyone out of business. I am a businessman myself, and I appreciate the hard work of businesses all across this country. But when you have a problem, you have to fix it. And, M. President, we know we have a problem. 

This amendment is not going to solve all of our problems, and it’s not going to eliminate prescription drug abuse once and for all. But it does give us one more tool to fight the drug abuse problem that we have in this country. 

And to get this passed, it’s going to take the voices of the public. The voices of people who have seen what it has done to our families, our children and our communities. We need their voices saying – we can’t stand by and watch this happen any longer. Voices like those from Oceana Middle School in Wyoming County, who participated in a letter writing campaign to their elected leaders asking for help with the drug epidemic. One of them wrote to me: 

“My town, Oceana, has an issue about drugs. I write this letter to you because I hope you can do something about it. In 2006 my godmother died of an overdose. She was the only person I could talk to. Drugs make people act in bad ways and if something doesn’t happen about them then our town will be in worse shape.” 

M. President, these are young children, and their desperation is just heartbreaking. These students want a better life for their parents, their siblings, their friends, their communities – and themselves. They are willing to fight, and we should be willing to fight for them.

M. President, I yield the floor.  

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