NANNY STATISM RUNNING WILD IN SOUTH CAROLINA …
By FITSNEWS || Onetime Tea Party darling Nikki Haley is endorsing a plan that would require doctors to provide state government with their patients’ prescription records – part of her administration’s efforts to combat so-called “rampant prescription drug abuse” in South Carolina.
The governor’s “Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Council” says all doctors must participate in a statewide “prescription monitoring program” – which was created several years ago but is not widely used. To be implemented, the new compulsory participation standard must first be approved by state lawmakers.
Where to start with this …
First, we’d like to see some evidence of the “rampant prescription drug abuse” claim Haley’s administration is spoon feeding the public via its most trusted “reporter,” – Associated Press scribe Seanna Adcox. Because her article alleges it … but offers absolutely nothing to support it.
And we all know how unreliable the Haley-to-Adcox info supply chain can be …
But even if South Carolina does have a disproportionately (and demonstrably) bad prescription drug abuse problem – this Orwellian nonsense is NOT the answer.
And that’s not just because Haley’s administration has done such a bang-up job (sarcasm alert) protecting your private information …
This website has consistently called for the legalization of all drugs – arguing government’s costly, ineffective efforts to police them is a violation of individual liberty and a waste of taxpayer resources. But even if you believe government has the right to criminalize certain drugs and not others – or regulate certain drug markets but not others – there is absolutely no justification for the sort of privacy invasion Haley’s administration is envisioning here.
“We are invading the privacy of 100 percent of patients to find the small percentage (who are) abusing narcotics,” S.C. Sen. Kevin Bryant (R-Anderson) told FITS.
Bryant also pointed to Haley’s abysmal track record when it comes to safeguarding private information.
“South Carolina has a terrible history of protecting databases with its citizens’ personal information,” he said, referring to the infamous 2012 #SCHacked debacle.
Bryant is absolutely correct … but that’s not the real reason this proposal should be shot down.
The real reason? Government has absolutely no business protecting citizens from themselves – whether it’s the abuse of prescription drugs, “illegal” drugs or alcohol. And even if it did, invading everyone’s privacy in such a heavy-handed manner would do more harm than good.
That’s our take, anyway …
What do you think? Vote in our poll and post your thoughts in our comments section online …
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77 comments
I want to know what medicine Nikki Haley is taking
Many ‘commentators’ on here have admitted to being experts on abusing drugs and booze. I am sure they will take the ‘steps’ to find out. :-)
Shut up, Simran!
I’m worried she’s not taking her meds, myself.
Did you recover from the ‘hot tub’ incident?
I’m feeling OK, not sure about your mom though.
Obviously being ensconced in Irmo, Sic Willie is unaware of the underground business of “pain pills” AKA “tabs”. Spend some time in certain areas and you will see how the “system” works. First you go to a doctor (paid for by medicaid) with complaints of chronic pain. The doctor issues you a refillable prescription for a copious amount of “tabs”. You keep a few for your own recreational use but sell the majority for $5-10 a “tab”. What if the doctor either won’t give you a refillable prescription or maybe none at all. Not a problem your streetwise buddies can tell which doctors are an easy score. BTW medicaid pays for most of the cost of your prescription.
There’s an underground business for everything. Even brains and intelligence, which you obviously need, I might add.
God help you, but you are obviously yet another person who has crawled up the governor’s asshole and set up light housekeeping. Thanks for stating obvious, well-known facts about the black market in pain pills. But it is STILL none of the business of any goddamned Hayley administration flacks what kind of medicine we take. The less that crooked bitch and her minions and cohorts (would that include you?) know about us, the better.
So you are happy with subsidizing (via medicaid) the pain pill business. Doctors, pharmacies, drug companies and the abusers thank you.
Nothing about this shit makes me happy. I agree that there is a serious problem with people abusing the system in the way you describe. But the fact is, the online pill pushers also target those not insured, or underused, by non-government companies. So who is subsidizing those people? I just see this as another attempt by the Haley administration to act like the Dems and try to control every damned aspect of our lives via government. She just happens to have an R by her name, so she gets a pass. It’s a damned shame.
Do you really thing abusers of drugs want regulation of the drugs they use as a crutch to function?
Better yet that the taxpayers (Medicaid) fund their addiction.
Or, alternatively, someone just holds up a Walgreens and steals an assload of painkillers.
The proposed solution of invaded privacy won’t do any real good at stopping prescription drug abuse. Look at all the shit that was done regarding Sudafed and yet meth production keeps going. You might be able to mitigate some of it but it will never stop.
It can be curtailed at the prescription writer (doctor) level. Monitor who is writing all the scripts. BTW this already is going on to some degree and results in “pain doctors” suddenly disappearing causing sellers to have to seek new sources of script.
It seems to me that they’re taking a page out of the liberal playbook on this one. One school shooting and it’s an epidemic. A few cases of Ebola, and it’s an epidemic. A couple of sets of parents use homeschooling as an excuse to hide child abuse and suddenly all homeschoolers are suspect (Republocrat Molly Spearman). The list goes on and on…Whatever happened to small government…*sigh*
Any politician who professes “small government” only wants “small government” where it benefits them the most.
mmm wasnt it the conservatives who freaked out over Ebola and screamed daily about how a full blow epidemic was just around the corner and we could call it Obamas Ebola..ahhh selective memory the tool that lets the GOP keep going in spite of the facts..
She pulls off this fucked up shit, there will be major class action federal lawsuits that will totally BANKRUPT the State of South Carolina and also demand criminal charges against her and her cronies. We will no longer just stand by and take this crap off of her or anyone else in government – PERIOD. They want a war, they will get it. The people will ruin their careers. Hear us ROAR! Don’t Tread On Us, We Are Not Afraid of You Or Your Nazism.
Try taking a pill – and chill out!
How much did you make last year selling your prescribed pain meds? Did you cheat on your taxes, too? hahahahaahaha!
Are you the creepy broad at the Grease Monkey who asked if I were interested in a “special”? The answer is “no” to all of your questions.
Cut her little tits off. hahahahaaha.
If it results in lawsuits against the state, then mission accomplished. SC loves fighting losing battles. Rest assured some assholes will make bank off of it, so we won’t stop anytime soon.
Nikki Haley’s landslide election fuels national speculation
President Haley!!!!!!!!LMAO!!!!
None of the SCALAWOG”S business!
Ok, Nikki, here ya go. Got a pencil?
I took two generic, CVS branded ibuprofens last Friday for a hangover from hell.
Then Saturday, I self medicated with Woodford Reserve when Cole Stoudt went in the game, then celebrated with same after he left the game (and then again with same afterwards). I was using it PRN.
Hope you got all that.
For a First Cause of Action: Criminal Conspiracy to infringe on Civil Rights. For a Second Cause of Action: Criminal Conspiracy to Violate a Right to Privacy. For a Third Cause of Action: Criminal Conspiracy to Violate HIPAA Laws and Regulations. For a Third Cause of Action: Conspiracy to Harass and Stalk. And on and on and on.
I demand a voter recall law, and I demand it now. I am sick and tired of these shitasses thinking that they own us. We are not their cattle. We are not their slaves. And its time to get in directly in their faces and let them know we are not and that we want them removed from power. This insanity of theirs to dominate over others is over the edge. They waste and abuse our money so much, that its not a laughing matter anymore. We are going to have to unite to get these control freaks out of our personal lives. Use the criminal laws to take them all down.
Why bother with a recall law? I’m all for a recall process but the voters never oust these fucks when they have the chance, what makes anyone think a recall election will be any different?
When the voters are angry over a current issue, when it is fresh in their minds, their anger tends to cause change. Psychology 101.
WOW. Just what we need, more govt. medaling in our private lives. And these people are supposed to be “Republicans”. Not my brand of Republican.
This commenter has consistently said that Nikki Haley is a menace to freedom, health, and the pursuit of happiness in South Carolina.
Freedom, health and the pursuit of happiness?
Is it the governor’s fault that someone doesn’t have the financial freedom to move out of mommy’s house, is obese and in poor health and projects themselves as being a miserable SOB?
Still spouting that bullshit from a drunken sociopath on The SNOB and his enablers, eh pogo? It is known that I’m still overweight, though 50 lbs less so than when you were imposing your assholery on that blog instead of this one. “Poor health” is relative. I cope pretty well with several disorders — none of which I blame on Nikki Haley. Mobility is still an issue, but what the fuck, we all have issues, right? As to financial freedom, I’m doing better than ever — and even if I were extraordinarily wealthy I would still keep my pledge to stay close to my elderly, disabled mother and look after her — either in her home or one next door or across the street. She may hold the title, but I more than contribute to everything, including paying more than my share of the bills.
I blame nothing in my life on Haley. You, multiple-fake-named trollish non-entity, are just pulling shit out your ass again in your obsessive effort to tear me down. But you can’t touch me, you dickless creep.
Sock puppets, personal attacks, hurling insults, I’m pretty sure he/she/it has zero capability to make logical arguments and resorts to trolling instead. No point in letting it get to you.
In the end, Nikki Haley will always be a shit politician and this troll will continue to defend even non-conservative efforts, likely because they are paid to do so.
Good points. He doesn’t “get” to me that much, though. I just chose the set the record straight every time he dredges up this garbage.
You two queers get a room.
Ohhh..he was talking about you.
Makes sense, I guess.
You and pogo should hook up. Bet that would break GT’s heart.
Or maybe not. Maybe you could make it a threesome. I think they would both love them some E. Norma Scok.
Is it the governor’s fault that someone doesn’t have the financial freedom to move out of mommy’s house, is obese and in poor health and projects themselves as being a miserable SOB?
Projection (Psychological)
1) An unconscious self-defence mechanism characterised by a person unconsciously attributing their own issues onto someone or something else as a form of delusion and denial.
Well put. That guy is et up widdit.
Why’s it always have to be about Tango?
Should have bloody well voted her out. If you’re complaining now and didnt bother voting then this is why you should have voted
Its doesn’t matter. If not Mrs Haley, it would be some other lawless rogue in government. There has been a never ending effort to force Americans into involuntary servitude. And this is clearly a step in that direction. Governor Haley is off her rockers. With this, she is merely accelerating herself towards the end of her political career. There is enough here already to legally make her life a living hell.
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I am alerting Judicial Watch about this one. I am sure their team of attorneys will find it of interest.
Haley leads landslide; GOP governor gets 2nd term
Get over it LOSER!!!
Aren’t Republicans supposed to support small government…? Explain why you support the expansion of the regulatory state please…
Its an easy winnable case in US District Court. Attorneys suing Haley over this stand to be awarded hundreds of thousands in legal fees. Since she has recently been re-elected, she feels safe to do most anything she wants – legal or not. Like the 10 day trip to India paid for with your money. That was a clear abuse and misuse of the people’s money. This woman is totally shameless. She is lawless and a rogue. Most all South Carolina agencies are a disaster. She brings no experience at running anything to the table. And her track record easily substantiates the same. This woman is a joke and a threat to everyone. The story is going national.
Haley leads landslide; GOP governor gets 2nd term
Haley will landslide right into federal prison, too :-) …. stand by, chump.
I warned she would be just like Obama if reelected!
It has already started.
She certainly does not have the citizens best interest at heart. On top of that, she violates our laws in her attempts to succeed with her agenda. She is in for a rude awakening and international shame over this stunt.
Nikki Haley’s landslide election fuels national speculation
Haley for President!!!
Speaking of international…you do know that India, along with China, is one of the biggest drug manufacturing countries on the planet, right?
I remember reading in the BBC a few years ago when the Western world’s last aspirin manufacturer closed shop in Europe and headed to India.
With the names and home addresses of every person prescribed medications by doctors, without due process of law and mandated procedural issuance of search warrants and subpoenas, SLED and all other law enforcement agencies would use the information to unlawfully and illegally probe/track and identify where illegal distribution is taking place. It would be like a ‘drag net,’ so to speak. So in essence, this does clearly appear to be an attempt to violate constitutional provisions and protection of every citizen right not only in the State of South Carolina, but every citizen of the United States. Travelers and tourist do have their prescriptions refilled or sometimes issued in SC by treating physicians.
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In my opinion, Haley is setting herself up for very expensive legal trouble(s).
Methinks that fatass Kevin Bryant makes a disproportionate amount of $$ from selling pain pills to those pillheads in Anderson. Stuck pig squeals the loudest.
Get the story right. Pharmacies have already been collecting prescription info for a state database. This is due to a law already signed by Haley. (I assume this is just for the most abused drugs. Perhaps someone can give me a link about this.)
Prescribers are not required to to report anything now or under the proposed law. They will be required to check the database when they fill out a prescription under the proposed law. Currently it is voluntary. (I assume it is only for commonly abused drugs.)
As for HIPPA and Constitutionality, similar laws have been in place in other states. I don’t know if they have been tested.
It appears Fits read the AP story, didn’t understand it and wrote anyway.
According the DHEC website it is Schedule II, III, and IV controlled substances. Which includes anti-depressants. I bet there are a bunch of folks popping Xanax.
The US Supreme Court upheld the New York Triplicate Prescription program in Whalen v. Roe, 429 U.S. 589 in 1977. It and the 1940s-era California Triplicate Prescription program are the “models” from which the more modern electronic systems were derived. As of this past October, there has never been a breach of the NY system, largely because the computers that generate the program are not connected with the overall internet, but are separately loaded with screened (for security – malware, viruses, etc.) information derived from an internet-based system. For a program now some 37 years old, that’s remarkable.
This program and the several others now in existence are invaluable in apprehending the “pill mills”, prescription forgers, and individuals who “doctor shop” and sell the resulting controlled substances “on the street”. The information was gathered by hand from individual pharmacies through the old inspection systems required under the laws of every state, and are relatively expensive and quite time consuming. The electronic system speeds the reporting, not only from the collection time involved in the inspection system, but in the enormous amount of time and effort for an inspector to feed this information into a computer. Same information available to the “givvernment” either way. Electronically, it is both accurate and rapidly retrievable, so it’s useful in reducing the amount of time required to close up the “pill mill” or shut down the illegal street sales.
A sophisticated inspector or agent (usually a pharmacist employed in a state drug agency or commission) can then quickly review all of the computerized data, and exclude that which would obviously be legitimate use of narcotics (for example, an oncologist is expected to prescribe unusually large amounts in order to alleviate the pain of a cancer patient) or other controlled substances (amphetamines for ADHD, etc). There is no government interest in interfering with the legitimate use of narcotics, or any of the other controlled substances.
No breached reported. But likely covered up.
Do you suffer from uncontrollable laughing or crying.
You may have PseudoBulbar Affect (PBA).
Ask your doctor about DMQ 20-10 (Nuedexta dextromethorphan 20 mg / quinidine 10 mg)
It is a Schedule – N drug and will not be reported to Gov. Haley.
The almost 40 Years Ago (4 decades) 1977 U. S. Supreme Court decision in finding that the police did not need a search warrant to enter a pharmacy and review the prescription records of a defendant is entirely different in this matter. This is the creation and the generating of a state government data base for exclusive use by the police with respect to private citizens; not doctors. In that regard, constitutional protections do apply and must be respected. Thus, the state maintained data base of private citizens and their medications prescribed, is illegal and violates the both the South Carolina Constitution and the Constitution of the USA. It will be challenged in federal court. The people are the law. And surveys are showing that the people reject this kind of governmental invasion. Its not “Me, Niki Haley and Friends.” It’s We The People of South Carolina and the United States of America.” They want records for police witch hunts, get a search warrant. Otherwise, this matter is guaranteed to end up in US District Court.
Under Federal law, pharmacies have to keep records anyway. But creating a state data base for use to hunt down those who have been prescribed controlled medications is going over the edge. Law enforcement needs court approved search warrants; not a free hand to do whatever they please. Other states doing it? Who cares. It will end up being challenged regardless of that or any other ‘older’ law made decades ago. We are in the future now; not the 1960s or 1970s. Most everybody is connected on the internet. We do not have to depend on limited media sources that may not cover these things or give little attention to these matter or none at all or who misled us. In the past, so many things slipped by that were unconstitutional and/or illegal. These days, its different. We now know that even the US Supreme Ct is corrupt (Obamacare).
You’re welcome to your opinion, but don’t you think fits should’ve at least gotten the story right? He presented it in a false and misleading way that may have been designed to cause the most misinformed outrage.
Actually, LE is AGAINST Haley on this.
Maybe Nephron also wants to know.
Don’t forget STD meds.
Tony Keck at DHHS has stated on its website that Medicaid fraud costs S.C. $700 million annually — about ten percent of its $7 billion budget.
Much of that is prescription drug fraud, as reported by Renee Dudley when she was at the Post and Courier.
Is this part of Keck’s plan to clamp down on that fraud?
That’d put people like Bobby Harrell, a prescription drug czar … out of business.
Tony Keck is gone – Haley replaced him with one of her aids. Keck went back to Louisiana.
And, Medicaid (and, Medicare) fraud is almost all fraud by the medical providers – doctors, hospitals, medical equipment, etc. – who get the check from Medicaid (and, Medicare) paying for the service. So, this database does identify the Dr. Feel Goods who would be seeing a disproportionate number of Medicaid pain patients and prescribing meds they may not have any use for but to sell.
I always wondered how the Harrell re-selling drugs business operated. Does he concentrate on certain kinds of drugs? Anybody know?
Haley is interested in hulks who take Viagra.
Currently ALL control substance prescriptions sold are reported daily to a multi-state data base managed by a contracted third party provider. The data transmitted contains the patient (and all associated personal data) as well as data related to the individual actually picking up the Rx. This data base can be accessed by registered providers (RPhs, MDs, DMDs, etc) and law enforcement agencies. This has been going on for quite some time. The system was supposedly introduced to allow MDs to check patients’ activities that would suggest the patient was seeking medications for other than legitimate medical purposes. Turns out that published numbers suggest that less than 5% of prescribers regularly access this data base. The mountain of data makes any use of it difficult or impossible.
I believe there is a conspiracy
Lawyers who have an inside track to the Governor’s Love Tunnel meet on a regular basis to mull over issues that the Governor can throw into the ring
Of course these are issues that will give rise to ligation thereby enhancing the Lawyer’s
bottom line and subsequently the Governor’s bottom
Kinda like quid pro quo but for Cockroaches like Haley and her friends, tit for tat
Haley’s staff has been trolling here.
DHEC already has a “SWAT” team that investigates these “doctor shoppers” that Nikki is so intent on either saving them from themselves or saving society from another headline overdose on big pharmas account. This team of Barney Fifes can, and do, go into any pharmacy and demand records without warrant, you know, to protect us from ourselves. Republican or democrat is like Pepsi or coke, you might prefer one to the other but they’re both still soda. Fascist and commies, coke and pepsi.
Barney Fifes they may be, but they were very effective (but extremely undermanned) up until a little more than 20 years ago, when both internal DHEC and external political pressure raised its ugly head, and about half of the inspectors retired or resigned in protest. (It is my understanding that one was later fired, but I have no firm information on that). The drug bureau chief at the time (name escapes me) had been with the drug division since the early ’60s, and was highly respected in the medically related professions here, and by the drug enforcement administration and the drug divisions of several other states. His successor, Mr. Harling, continued the honesty of the division for his term from the ’90s until about 3 years ago, and who recently retired, and died shortly thereafter of cancer. All of the “Barney Fifes” have completed the Criminal Justice Academy courses, and are certified police officers, as well as mostly, if not all, pharmacists.
Somehow this doesn’t bother me. I find it extremely boring to read my own prescription records. Why should I worry about some bureaucrat with 5.7 million citizens’ prescription records finding something shameful in mine?
SC residents have ALWAYS, like Elvis, loved their prescription drugs.
Back in the 60s and into the early 70s, it was amphetamines, aka diet pills. For the downers, it was Darvon and Darvocet, throw in a Miltown and Librium here and there.
Later in the 70s, Quaalude was the new kid on the block for a really short period of time.
Valium (yesterday’s Xanax and Ativan), which actually can kill people in withdrawal – something not even heroin can do – was mother’s little helper.
Percocet, Vicodin, Oxycontin, Lortab…with the prescription drug history that we have, I can’t figure out how they got on the market at the same time Darvon and Darvocet were coming off.
And, as a recent case in Beaufort showed, SC judges are still giving their peers, their friends the Dr. Feel Goods, slaps on the wrist for pushing these drugs. And, they also have not heard that in the states that have already gone with the computer monitoring of the prescriptions, heroin use has sky rocketed.
That might be a good thing, for junkies to know they’re junkies and not just good patients.