Portman Amendments to Combat Drug Abuse Included in FDA Legislation

Press Release

U.S. Senator Rob Portman's (R-Ohio) two amendments to the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act to help fight the ongoing battle against drug abuse have been included in the legislation that will likely come up for a vote this afternoon.

The first amendment creates an efficient, cost-effective system for states to share information from prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) across state lines, making it easier to track prescription drug abuse. Forty-eight states have authorized PDMPs to facilitate the exchange of information among doctors, pharmacists and in some instances, authorized law enforcement, but currently there is no national standard for the exchange of such information across state lines. The amendment is based on S.2254, the Interstate Drug Monitoring Efficiency and Data Sharing Act of 2012 (ID MEDS), which was introduced by Sens. Portman, Whitehouse (D-RI) and U.S. Representative Hal Rogers (R-KY) earlier this year.

The second amendment changes the Controlled Substance Act to include synthetic drugs, an important step in combating the growing epidemic of designer drug abuse. Synthetic drugs, which are chemically produced in laboratories and cause unpredictable side effects in humans, have dramatically increased in usage over the last three years. Adding these drugs to the Controlled Substance Act is the first step in making these drugs illegal and cracking down on those involved in synthetic drug production and distribution. The amendment is based on S.3190, the Synthetic Drug Abuse Prevention Act of 2012.

"With prescription and synthetic drug abuse reaching epidemic proportions in the U.S, we need to work together to fight this problem, which is plaguing too many families and communities," said Portman. "In Ohio, there has been a drastic increase in the distribution of these drugs over recent years, to the point where overdose is now the leading cause of accidental death. Our amendments would strengthen states' ability to monitor and track prescription drug dispersion and make it harder for illegal synthetic drug distributors to operate, a big step forward in the fight against drug abuse."

Both of these amendments will help local, state and federal law enforcement combat the ongoing problem of drug abuse in their own communities. As a U.S. Representative and now as U.S. Senator, Portman has been a leader in drug prevention, education and treatment. He is the author of four anti-drug laws, including The Drug-Free Communities Act, which has provided millions of dollars of support to hundreds of community anti-drug coalitions round the country. Portman also founded and chaired an anti-drug coalition in greater Cincinnati, covering 10 counties in southwest Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. That group, the Coalition for a Drug-Free Cincinnati, continues today to be one of the most successful coalitions nationally.

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