Georgia House approves prescription drug database

Prescription drug abuse is one of the fastest growing problems facing teens and young adults in America today. Many experts believe that it is caused by the ease with which adolescents find the drugs.

However, to combat this, Georgia lawmakers are exploring implementing a prescription drug database that would require pharmacists and doctors to report to the state weekly on who received medication, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

The measure was passed by the state's House, and will cover Schedule I to Schedule V drugs as well as those with low potential for abuse. Furthermore, the database will be searchable by doctors, dentists and pharmacists. Law enforcement would need to receive a Superior Court subpoena to have access to the records.

"It is not like you can Google Tom Weldon and say, ‘Let's see what kind of drugs he is taking.’ That is not what this is about,” Weldon, R-Ringgold, told the news source. “This is for medical providers.”

The 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health reports that nearly 7 million people ages 12 and older used prescription drugs recreationally in the month prior to the survey.