Posted by Utah House Democrats on Sep 17, 2009
Representative Trisha Beck, D–Sandy
District 48
In 2007 our family suffered a terrible tragedy. My dear nephew suffered an accidental overdose after he became addicted to a medication that had been subscribed to him for pain. Unfortunately, he died.
I don’t want other families to go through the pain and heartache that my family has gone through. That is why I am sponsoring a bill that that would place drugs like cardisoprodol, sold under the brand name Soma, as a Schedule IV drug. If this bill passes, it will be added to Utah’s Controlled Substance Database Program.
The following articles appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News today. They are very good articles and do a great job telling the story.
I hope that we can all work together on this very important issue.
Interim committee recommends tracking of muscle relaxant
Drugs » If draft bill becomes law, Soma would be added to controlled substance list.
Updated: 09/17/2009 07:27:19 AM MDT
A prescription drug used to treat muscle pain and tension could soon be added to Utah’s list of controlled substances, a move that would allow law enforcement to more easily detect abuse and fraud involving the medication.
The Health and Human Services Interim Committee approved a draft bill sponsored by Rep. Trisha Beck that would place cardisoprodol, sold under the brand name Soma, as a Schedule IV drug.
If the bill is passed by the 2010 Legislature, the drug would be added to Utah’s Controlled Substance Database Program, allowing tracking of prescriptions and creating penalties for unlawful possession or distribution of the drug. Refills would be limited to five times within six months.
The committee declined to sign off on listing tramadol, sold under the brand name Ultram and Ultracet, as a Schedule IV drug, saying there wasn’t enough evidence of abuse to justify monitoring use of the analgesic. Several committee members said they wanted to defer a decision on tramadol until a standard process is created in Utah to review listing of medications as controlled substances. A bill to do that is in the works.
Beck said a study group comprised of law officers, prosecutors, pharmacists, physicians, family members, legislators and other government officials, recommended the classification for the two drugs.
“Listing the drugs as scheduled drugs puts patients and family members on notice of the fact that these drugs, which greatly effect the nervous system, are often abused and are very addictive,” said Beck, who lost a nephew to an addiction to painkillers in 2007.
Other medications listed as Schedule IV drugs include Xanax, Valium, Lunesta and Ambien. Drugs in the classification have potential to result in physical or psychological dependence.
Rep. Evan Vickers, R-Cedar City, a committee member and pharmacist, said the muscle relaxant also has a sedating effect. It is typically abused in combination with alcohol or other drugs, he said. Less abuse and dependency occurs with tramadol, he said.
Seventeen states have listed cardisoprodol as a scheduled drug, while two have taken that step with tramadol, Beck said. Both drugs are on the federal Drug Enforcement Agency’s watch list though the agency has not yet made them controlled substances, according to Robert Johnson, a DEA investigator.
Johnson said seizures related to use of Soma have increased sixfold since 2000, from 645 to 3,845 in 2008. He also said the American Association of Poison Control Centers reports 78 “toxic deaths” from cardisoprodol medications between 2003 and 2007.
Soma is being sold on the street illegally at $1 to $5 a tablet, according to Chad Platt, a Salt Lake County deputy district attorney.
brooke@sltrib.com
Legislators aim to outlaw powerful painkiller Soma
By James Thalman
Deseret News
Published: Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2009 1:16 p.m. MDT
A committee of lawmakers gave unanimous approval today to a draft bill that would make the muscle relaxer/painkiller Soma illegal to possess and a Class B misdemeanor unless a person is under current, verifiable physician’s care.
The abuse of Soma among patients and street sales of the drug has reached “epidemic proportions in Utah,” bill sponsor Rep. Trisha Beck, D-Salt Lake, told members of the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Interim Committee.
If the 2010 Legislature approves the bill, it would, in effect, be the state’s official recognition of Utah’s so-called “other drug problem” and would put Utah among 17 states that have adopted stricter regulations on Soma than the federal government. The U.S. Federal Drug Administration has recommended that the drug be similarly classified, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency is expected to follow suit.
Lawmakers decided they can’t wait. Expert witnesses told the committee that incidents of the drug factoring into the deaths or major medical problems and in criminal activity increased nearly sixfold — to 3,845 from 645 — in Utah between 2000 to 2008.
The drug can draw as much as $80 per pill on the street, where it is getting notoriety as the thing to take to enhance the euphoria users get from taking other painkillers such as OxyContin and its street version, heroin.
Committee member and pharmacist Rep. Evan Vickers, R-Cedar City, said that like other powerful narcotics, Soma is habit forming, and those prescribed the drug for pain due to an accident or surgery can become physically and mentally dependent on it. Among those who are trying to prolong or enhance a drug-induced high, use for feelings of euphoria can quickly turn to use just to feel normal, he said.
Death from use of painkillers can be seen practically every day in newspaper obituaries in which cause of death isn’t listed or is said to be due to heart failure.
The heart has often failed because of overdose of prescription painkillers, which depress or sedate the brain’s activity to the point that it simply shuts down the heart, Glen Hanson, a University of Utah professor of pharmacology and toxicology, told committee members.
That’s what happened to Beck’s nephew, prompting her to use his death for good and to try to get ahead of the problem instead of the problem always being ahead of efforts to deal with it.
Committee co-chairman Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield, is drafting a bill that sets up a formal substance review board of prescription drugs that would streamline the process for classifying drugs and making their use easier for health and public safety agencies to monitor.
Soma has become a new drug of choice for high school and college students who have told doctors and police officers that they obtain the pills, sometimes by the handful, from medicine cabinets in their homes and their friends’ homes, lawmakers were told.
Prescription drug abuse isn’t just popular among kids, Utah is the nation’s capital for it, Hanson said.
Given the state’s nation-leading low rates of using illicit drugs and alcohol, “Utah’s being right up there leading the pack (in incidents of prescription drug abuse) indicates that something unique is going on here,” Hanson said.
When asked what that might be, he said Utahns are a bit na?e about prescription drugs and tend to lean toward a general attitude that if it’s a prescription drug and from the doctor, it is not as dangerous as a common illicit street drug.
“The fact is that when someone is starting to take physically and mentally abusive drugs,” he said, “the brain responds the same way. and the damage will be as bad whether the compound comes from a pharmaceutical company or off the street.”
e-mail: jthalman@desnews.com
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Posted by Utah House Democrats on Sep 17, 2009
Utah is facing an $850,000,000 budget shortfall in the 2010 legislative session. This special report by KSL’s Rich Piatt features comments by House and Senate Majority and Minority Leadership.
Video Courtesy of KSL.com
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Posted by Utah House Democrats on Sep 16, 2009
Representative Tim Cosgrove, D–Murray
District 44
During the 2009 legislative session I sponsored and passed a bill, HB401, which ensures that military members will not lose custody of their children to an ex-spouse while they’re deployed. From the time the bill was presented to me until its final passage, I believed very strongly that this was good public policy for Utah.
The following story appeared in the Deseret News last week, and I am humbly reminded of why I am here at the Utah Legislature. Those of us who choose public service do so, not because we want to make laws that are meaningless or restrict people from living their lives in the best way they can. On the contrary, we choose public service because we want to enrich people’s lives in every way possible.
Enjoy the following story. It does a wonderful job illustrating why I decided to be a member of the Utah House of Representatives.
*****
Utah law is big relief for military family
New law keeps divorced soldiers from losing custody in a deployment
By Joseph M. Dougherty
Deseret News
Published: Friday, Sept. 4, 2009 9:48 p.m. MDT
A bill passed during the 2009 legislative session is credited with keeping a West Valley family together in the face of an upcoming military deployment. HB401, sponsored by Rep. Tim Cosgrove, D-Murray, didn’t receive a lot of press. But to Ben and Tera Frank, of West Valley, the law was the key to making sure Ben Frank’s two sons would be there when he gets back from Afghanistan in April.
The bill, which passed nearly unanimously in the Utah Legislature, ensures that military members will not lose custody of their children to an ex-spouse while they’re deployed.
Ben Frank is getting ready to deploy in September with the Utah Air National Guard as an explosive ordnance disposal technician.
Because Ben Frank was divorced and has joint custody of two sons with his previous wife, he is required to notify her of his deployment, said Tera Frank, who brought two children into their marriage.
But about a month after the couple notified Ben Frank’s ex-wife of his deployment, they learned that she disagreed with a plan for Ben to transfer his parental rights to Tera while he is deployed. Frank’s ex wanted to have custody of the 3- and 6-year-old boys during the deployment.
That would mean that the 17 days a month the boys now live with Ben and Tera Frank would have dropped to four, Tera Frank said.
To win the custody battle, lawyers for Ben and Tera Frank had to rely on Cosgrove’s bill. During back and forth calls, the Franks’ attorneys read portions of the bill to lawyers representing Ben Frank’s former spouse. The lawyers for the two parties argued about the intent of the law. In March, Cosgrove said the intent of the bill was to ensure military parents don’t lose their custody rights when they’re deployed.
“When a military service member is deployed or mobilized overseas, it helps to not have the constant concern, the constant worry, the constant anxiety of the safety and the security of their children while they’re at home,” Cosgrove said. “(The bill will) ensure what was in order before they left is also in order while they’re gone and when they return home.”
By August, Ben Frank’s ex-wife and a judge had signed a stipulation that she would no longer try to fight for full custody during the deployment, Tera Frank said.
“There is great importance to this bill because I believe Utah is one of the first states to pass such a bill to protect service members in this matter,” Ben Frank wrote in an e-mail Friday.
In July 2009, the Air Force Times reported a story of a Kentucky National Guard member who lost custody of her children after a 2004 deployment made her an “unfit parent.”
For four years, Rep. Michael Turner, R-Ohio, has been working to change federal law related to military custodial issues, but he has so far been unsuccessful.
The Air Force Times reported that Turner said he has heard two basic arguments against passing a federal law on child custody for service members: People don’t want the federal government interfering with issues normally left up to states, and that the number of cases is so small that it doesn’t warrant such a change.
“There are very few people, including military members, that know about this bill,” Ben Frank wrote Friday, adding that he hopes other states can catch on and pass similar legislation. “It is already difficult for children of military members that deploy, but for my two young boys to be stripped away from their two young step-siblings would have been a disaster for all four of the children’s well-being.”
e-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com
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Posted by Utah House Democrats on Sep 16, 2009
By Representative Brian King, Salt Lake City, District 28
Recently I had the opportunity to visit Price, Utah along with many of my colleagues from the Democratic House and Senate caucuses. It was a great opportunity for all of us to learn about issues that are most important to the people who live and work in rural Utah. As an urban legislator, I don’t deal on a day-to-day basis with the issues that affect our rural communities. Our trip gave us a greater appreciation for rural issues like water, land use, and energy development, all of which have a huge impact on rural Utah. Our trip helped us to understand the degree to which these issues affect the entire state.
We also enjoyed a tour of the Huntington Power Plant at the mouth of Huntington Canyon. While I was on the tour, I realized how much time, effort and money goes into generating electricity. It was fascinating, and I gained a greater understanding of the technologies and complexities of how we generate electricity. For instance, I had no idea that the coal used in power plants is crushed down to the consistency of flour for burning in the boilers. It was very educational and worthwhile.
Alison and I, and our children have spent time in Carbon and emery Counties on various occasions in past years and we were reminded again of the beauty and diversity of the region. Balancing the need to protect the natural beauty of that area with our need to create a favorable economic climate for Carbon adn Emery counties will be a real challenge. But it will be critical for us to watch that line effectively.
The following article was published in the Sun Advocate on September 1, 2009 and provides a good overview of our trip and everyone’s impressions. A special thank you to Representative Christine Watkins, who represents those areas, for setting up the trip and for her generous hospitality.
Legislators and Power
By RICHARD SHAW
Sun Advocate publisher
*Images coutesy of Richard Shaw, Sun Advocate
http://www.sunad.com
Nine legislators from the urban areas of Utah visited eastern Utah over the weekend. During a Friday night reception and a tour on Saturday, their eyes were opened to many issues of which they previously had limited knowledge.
“I worked on hate crimes legislation for six years and thought that was controversial,” said Representative David Litvack, (D) District 26. “But I found that that issue holds no water to water. Water is a very heated and often debated issue. During the session, the deal with Sanpete County wanting to build a dam came up. But being from an urban area, I had a lot of things going and probably didn’t understand it. Now I have heard from people who will be affected by it.”
The group of three state senators and six members of the House of Representatives, all from the Democratic caucus, spent Friday night at a dinner hosted by Representative Christine Watkins (D) District 69 at her home in Miller Creek. Several county officials attended the dinner with the legislators and took the time to explain local issues to them.
“It was really a good thing,” said Watkins on Saturday. “We had county commissioners, representation from the college and other entities there to talk about issues concerning the community, including water, land use, the colleges’ situation, energy development and other items.”
On Saturday, many of the same legislators toured the Huntington Power Plant at the mouth of Huntington Canyon, visited the Crandall Canyon mine memorial above the defunct mine, and spent some time at Huntington Park eating lunch and listening to a briefing from Castle Dale Mayor Neal Peacock. Then they got to see the San Rafael Swell’s Wedge Overlook, an area where much controversy regarding land use has swirled over the years. All marveled about the memorial above the Crandall Canyon mine as they walked through the sacred ground dedicated to the six miners and three rescuers who died in the mine over two years ago. They were also impressed by the community spirit shown in all the tributes given to the miners both there and at the memorial in Huntington.
The Wedge was another place that blew them away. Only one legislator had visited the Swell previously. They all said they couldn’t believe the beauty and majesty of viewpoint and said that it wasn’t more prominently known in the state.
But the power plant tour was the center of the day. All had good words for PacifiCorp, its managers and employees.
“I think what I got out of that tour was the detail, the sequential steps it takes to generate power,” said Litvack. “The part about the mines and the mining industry almost seemed to me to be a separate thing from power generation before I went on the tour. But it’s not. I was also very pleased to see the emphasis the plant has on worker safety and the environment. You could tell that the people that gave us the tour (plant management) care deeply about those things.”
Representative Brian King who represents District 28 in Salt Lake City was also impressed by what he saw.
“I thought it was amazing,” he said. “You know you take this kind of stuff for granted. But when you go through on the tour, you start to realize how much time, effort and money goes into generating electricity. And it is so complex from a technological viewpoint. For instance, I had no idea that the coal used in power plants is crushed down to the consistency of flour for burning in the boilers.”
Representative Carol Spackman Moss (D) District 37 was impressed by the safety and environmental measures the plant has taken. She also thought the master control room was amazing.
“I was surprised by that control room that takes care of the entire plant,” she said as she stood on the edge of one of the Wedge viewpoints. “It looked like NASA. It’s also amazing that they run that plant with as few employees as they do.”
Litvack also said the trip was a time to get to know people in the state who weren’t necessarily his constituents, but were other members of the Democratic Party.
“I came up here to connect with people who I may not represent, but [who] are members of the same party,” he said. “I also came here to understand issues in a different way. It wasn’t necessarily that we were coming here to change our viewpoint so much as to gain a better understanding. When you have a better understanding of an entire issue, you make better decisions.”
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Posted by Utah House Democrats on Sep 16, 2009
by Representative Christine Johnson
Recently, I sat in a Health and Human Services Committee Meeting during an interim day at the legislature. As a member of this committee, I am always intrigued by the presentations and presenters that come and speak to us in favor of or in opposition to legislation and policy that comes before us as legislators in the Utah House of Representatives.
One agenda item for our meeting was a presentation of the federal health care reform proposals that are currently before congress, and our discussion was to focus on how the proposed legislation might affect our health care reform efforts in Utah. While I’m not sure that the debate which ensued was entirely germane to the topic, what resulted was an interesting question which I have spent the last several weeks pondering.
Is health care a right or a privilege?
Fundamentally, I believe access to basic and quality health care is a right. I believe that if a person is sick, and technologies are available to help that person become healthy again, then that person does have a right to access those technologies. The problem that keeps most of us back is the cost involved.
Some would argue that access to basic and quality health care is not a right… at least not a right that should be guaranteed by a government to its citizens, such as the right to life, or liberty, or the pursuit of happiness, or even the right to bear arms. Is access to quality health care a privilege, then? If I am lucky enough or wealthy enough or have a better job than someone else that provides me with good health insurance, does that mean it is my privilege to be healthy?
Its important to note that health insurance is not just about seeing a doctor when you are sick. It’s about prevention as well. Those who have health insurance more than likely have a relationship with a doctor who is aware of each person’s individual health history. Those who have health insurance most likely have better access to preventive care so that chronic disease can be prevented in the first place. When a person does not have health care coverage, minor illnesses can turn into major ones. Small incidents can turn into chronic conditions. Once this happens, it becomes almost impossible to afford quality health insurance without restrictions on benefits.
The number of people without health insurance has increased steadily since 2000, now totaling about 47 million Americans. While most Americans obtain health insurance coverage through their employers, with the cost of health insurance outpacing inflation and wage increases, more employers are opting out of the market. Family incomes have not kept pace with health care inflation making non-group coverage unaffordable for most low-income families. Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program help to fill in the coverage gap for millions, especially children. As a result, Medicaid and sky rocketing uncompensated care costs are straining state and federal budgets.
So access to health care is only a problem if you cannot afford it. And, today, many Utahns cannot.
If access to health care is deemed a fundamental right, then government must be obliged to guarantee that access to every citizen. Medical treatment would have to be available on an equal basis to anyone seeking it, regardless of age or physical condition or ability to pay.
If access to health care is not a fundamental right, then how do you solve the problem? Who pays for the individuals who still cannot afford it, even after we pass laws and provide portals and level the playing field, making affordable health care available to most Americans?
America, and Utah, has a long history of providing “Charity Care” to individuals in the most dire of circumstances. Charity Care is generally for people who do not have other financial resources available, such as insurance, government programs, or regular income.
I applaud and support all efforts to change and improve and reform the health care system in our state and our nation. But mostly, I believe that we need to look to each other and government to level the playing field. Access to good, quality, and affordable health care is a right, not a privilege.
Hard questions still remain. If it is indeed a right, then how are we going to pay for it? And, the converse must also be asked. How are we going to pay for not reforming the present system? As a an elected member of the Utah legislature, I believe our government needs to work toward a health care plan that is not just a privilege of those who can afford it, but is clearly a fundamental right of all U.S. citizens simply because of their human existence.
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