The House Public Health Committee met April 7 to take up their interim charge regarding opioid abuse in the state. According to witnesses, the number one cause of death in 2011 was prescription drug overdose. The problem has been escalating in Texas since Louisiana implemented more stringent laws regarding the regulation of controlled substances. The number of pill mills in Texas has increased dramatically as well as the practice of doctor shopping, or visiting various emergency rooms and pain clinics to collect as many prescriptions as possible.
View the Hillco client report for this hearing.