Sens. Charles Schumer of New York and Mark Pryor of Arkansas proposed a bill this week to help police combat a disturbing trend of increasing prescription drug abuse.
The bill would fund research to develop a test for detecting drugged drivers.
"Cops need a breathalyzer-like technology that works to identify drug-impaired drivers on-the-spot -- before they cause irreparable harm," Schumer said after announcing the legislation.
The proposal comes just days after two Long Island residents were indicted for drugged driving. The first crashed a pickup truck into a family purchasing a Christmas tree Dec. 10, killing a 5-year-old boy and injuring both parents. The second killed a 40-year-old woman, struck while helping her mother load laundry into the trunk of her car.
According to Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota, the first driver had five prescriptions by one doctor for a total of 480 Oxycodone pills just days before the accident, and tested positive for Oxycodone, Xanax and Carisoprodol at the time of the wreck.
"It's no exaggeration to say that this rising scourge of driving under the influence of drugs is the biggest public safety emergency on our roads today," Spota said.
Indeed, prescription drug abuse is a growing problem. According to the Centers for Disease Control, painkiller overdose deaths more than doubled from 2000 to 2007, and prescription drug overdose is now the No. 1 cause of accidental death in 17 states.
A 2007 report from the Florida Medical Examiners Association showed they can be surprisingly lethal. Of the 168,900 statewide deaths studied that year, 2,328 were caused by legal painkillers, compared to 989 from cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines.
The drugs are also difficult to combat. They're concealable, and abusers lack the tell-tale signs of impaired driving associated with other drugs. They're also profitable, as shown by the cache of Oxycodone seized in Oneonta by state troopers Dec. 21, which had an estimated value of $117,000.
They're also powerfully addictive, as shown by the horrifying Medford incident in September, when addict David Laffer killed four people during a botched pharmacy robbery, including 17-year-old Jennifer Mejia, who was due to graduate from high school days later. Laffer and his wife were prescribed nearly 12,000 pills in four years before the incident.
Such addictions should never be allowed to reach that point. Lawmakers and police need to work together on this, because the problem requires a comprehensive solution.
"You have health care providers involved, you have doctor shoppers, and then there are crimes like robbing drug shipments," said Jeff Beasley of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement when interviewed by The New York Times. "That's what makes things complicated."
Opinion
Pill abuse should be a priority for police, pols
- Opinion
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In Memoriam
This message appears each Memorial Day weekend in The Daily Star.
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Letters to the Editor: May 26, 2012
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Letters to the Editor: May 25, 2012
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Facebook’s fizzle was no surprise
Facebook’s IPO last week was supposed to be a moment of triumph for the social network, but the event quickly devolved into an ugly tale of duplicity, hubris and greed, as the stock lost 18 percent of its value in the first two days of trading.
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Letters to the Editor: May 24, 2012
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Heegan must show vision for Chamber
In selecting Barbara Ann Heegan as its executive director last week, the Otsego County Chamber would seem to have chosen a safe rather than a bold path for its immediate future.
- Wednesday, May 23, 2012
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Letters to the Editor: May 23, 2012
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Can't have a third party without a candidate
What if they gave a party ... and nobody came?
- Tuesday, May 22, 2012
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Cheers
To Bike to Work Day, Cooperstown Quiz Team, Arts Field Day, the SUNY Delhi Centennial.
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Letters to the Editor: May 22, 2012
- Monday, May 21, 2012
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Letters to the Editor: May 21, 2012
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The world does move
To look at a newspaper from 1912, 1937, 1962 or 1987, it can seem as though positively everything has changed.
- Saturday, May 19, 2012
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Letters to the Editor: May 19, 2012
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Graduates, take acquired skills, set sail on job voyage
This weekend, many colleges and universities -- including SUNY Delhi and SUNY Oneonta -- will bestow degrees of various levels and types upon their students.
- Friday, May 18, 2012
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Letters to the Editor: May 18, 2012
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'Whale' failure shows how little has changed
One positive development resulting from JPMorgan's recent $2 billion trading blunder is increased scrutiny of the regulations put in place since 2008 to prevent a repeat of that year's financial collapse.
- Thursday, May 17, 2012
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Taxes spoke louder than sentiment in voting
It has become a virtually immutable fact of modern-day industry and politics. Given the choice between financial interest and sentiment, money always wins.
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Letters to the Editor: May 17, 2012
- Wednesday, May 16, 2012
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Letters to the Editor: May 16, 2012
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Gas companies need to play nice with residents
"You need to assure me that you are going to talk to the towns." This was Rep. Chris Gibson's plea to the gas companies that are seeking to lay natural gas pipelines through the local area.
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In Memoriam
