Political Quotes

“I rise today in support of reauthorization of the National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Drug Reporting Act, NASPER, program critical to combating the abuse of prescription drugs in our Nation. I am proud to once again join my colleagues Senators Dick Durbin, Jeff Sessions, and Sherrod Brown on this important legislation which would reauthorize the NASPER program. In 2008, over 15 million Americans abused prescription drugs and nearly 2 million of those Americans were between the ages of 12 and 17. Further, the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health found that last year more than 1 in 10 high school seniors used a narcotic for nonmedical purposes. These statistics are simply unacceptable. We must do more to address the issue of prescription drug abuse in this country. When used under the supervision of a medical professional prescription drugs can be life saving but when they are abused they can become life-threatening. NASPER will help prevent unnecessary deaths by allowing credentialed professionals access to key information regarding prescriptions for many controlled substances. This access will help prevent doctor shopping and will help health professionals to more closely monitor the prescriptions being issued to their patients. NASPER is a valuable tool available to states to help detect and prevent abuse of prescription drugs.”