Attorney General wants support for drug abuse legislation

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) Attorney General Greg Zoeller wants Indiana law-makers to support a proposed bill that targets pain-management clinics and prescription drug abuse.

Zoeller pushed for support to Senate Bill 246 during a press conference in Fort Wayne on Wednesday.

“Pain-management clinics operating outside the law negatively impact their patients’ welfare, fuel addiction and harm local communities,” Zoeller said. “The growing number of patients and families who have experienced the fallout of prescription drug abuse deserve solutions. Our prescription drug task force, made up of 70 individuals with diverse backgrounds and medical experience, has worked hard to provide relevant solutions to the legislature to impact the prescription drug abuse epidemic.”

The bill would allow the Medical Licensing Board of Indiana to authorize immediate inspections by the Attorney General’s office to investigate potential over-prescribing. Pain management clinics would also have to be managed by a physician or a hospital.

Zoeller said the ongoing case against Fort Wayne's Dr. William Hedrick of the Centers for Pain relief underscores the need for more oversight of practitioners that deal with pain management and the controlled substances that treat pain.

The bill is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Committee on Health and Provider Services on February 13.

For more information on Zoeller’s prescription drug abuse awareness campaign visit the Attorney General’s website.