Tom Harkin: “as the Senator said, his amendment would amend the Controlled Substances Act to make any substance containing…”

“as the Senator said, his amendment would amend the Controlled Substances Act to make any substance containing hydrocodone--Vicodin--a schedule II drug. As he said, this is presently a schedule III drug. The most significant difference is, for patients, schedule II drugs are not allowed to be refilled. That is the key to the amendment. I applaud the Senator. I have great concerns regarding the increased abuse of prescription drugs. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Overdoses involving prescription painkillers are at epidemic levels-- Epidemic levels-- and now kill more Americans than heroin and cocaine combined. That is a quote from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to CDC, more than 40 people die in America every day from overdoses involving narcotic pain relievers such as hydrocodone. For this reason, I applaud Senator Manchin for his amendment and the efforts he has undertaken to reschedule this drug. It is the most frequently abused narcotic and that is a strong reason to reschedule it into section II. Again, I thank the Senator for this amendment. At the appropriate time I will ask for its adoption. Again, I thank the Senator from West Virginia. This is a great amendment. It improves the bill. It is widely accepted, and the Senator has been on the right track on this issue for a long time.…”