Missouri will no longer be the only state in the nation without a statewide prescription drug monitoring program.
A new state law has begun that will allow the creation of the database – for doctors to check for cases of suspected drug misuse. State Senator Holly Rehder has sponsored the legislation for nine years. Rehder, a Republican from southeast Missouri’s Scott City, explains why she stayed the course to the end.
After nine years of sponsoring the bill, Rehder says she kept fighting for those who have grown up like her – on welfare, living in trailer parks and moving around on a Greyhound bus.
The legislation will let doctors check for cases of potential drug misuse.
The other part of her inspiration has been her daughter’s 13-year battle with addiction. Rehder says her daughter has been clean for seven years.
