By By Sharon White/The Meridian Star
March 1, 2001
Mississippi nurse practitioners are lobbying the state Legislature to allow them to write prescriptions for some controlled substances.
Bill 1163 has passed in the state Senate with a subcommittee amendment and now faces full Senate approval.
But at least one local doctor believes the bill in its present form would make narcotics more accessible to drug abusers who make a profession of obtaining drugs with legal prescriptions and then selling them.
In his opinion, that opens the door for even more "professional patients" to obtain controlled substances from numerous doctors and then sell them to addicts.
He said he is not against allowing nurse practitioners to write prescriptions for controlled substances, per se.
He said as an addictionologist for Alliance Health Center in Meridian, at least 50 percent of all addicts are addicted to prescription narcotics.
Sharon White is a staff writer for The Meridian Star. E-mail her at swhite@themeridianstar.com.