Albany action near on prescription abuse

State lawmakers are close to an agreement on real-time tracking of prescription painkillers, though some political discord persists and advocates are pushing for a resolution before the State Legislature adjourns for the summer.

Both Republicans and Democrats say a deal is close.

Still, lawmakers are ironing out the mechanics of tracking prescriptions, and Avi Israel of Buffalo, leader of one parents' group, plans with Long Island activists to descend on the State Capitol on Monday to press lawmakers to act -- or to cheer an agreement.

"The holdouts right now are the Republicans," Israel said. He said the GOP conference, headed by Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre), hasn't agreed to a system that would instantly track issuance and dispensation of prescriptions.

A Skelos spokesman strongly denied any negotiating snag.

"That simply isn't true," said the spokesman, Scott Reif. "We remain optimistic that a three-way agreement on legislation that addresses prescription drug abuse is near, and will be reached before the legislative session concludes in June."

"We continue to have productive discussions . . . and are hopeful we can reach an agreement soon," said Michael Whyland, spokesman for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan).

Officials have said they were close to a deal on new legislation since April and now say they have two target dates to reach an agreement: the June 4 anniversary of the overdose death of Israel's son, or June 19, the anniversary of last year's fatal Medford pharmacy shootings. Activists urged them to act soon.

"We're either holding a news conference Monday hitting these guys for not getting it done yet," said Jeffrey Reynolds, of the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependency, "or we're doing a victory lap."

Negotiators are to meet Wednesday. The State Legislature is scheduled to adjourn June 21.

The outlines of an agreement have been taking shape for months. Lawmakers want to improve tracking of prescription painkillers, make it harder to get refills and increase penalties for offenders. A broad package of legislation would include reclassifying drugs such as hydrocodone.

But the big issue has been the current tracking system. The state Health Department updates its prescriptions database monthly. Notably, doctors' participation is voluntary and pharmacists don't have access to the database. Activists said those loopholes must be closed.

"We need a new database, not just tinkering with the old one," Reynolds said.

Lawmakers have been wrangling for a year, he noted. "A year doesn't seem long in Albany time," he said. "But when you talk to the people who come through our doors . . . they say, 'Are you crazy? It's been a year you've been debating this?' "