Budget Cuts Prompt Calif. To End Rx Monitoring Database
California is dismantling its prescription drug monitoring system in the wake of $70 million in budget cuts to the state Department of Justice for the current and next fiscal year. The Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System, or CURES, allows physicians and law enforcement officials to identify individuals who might be misusing prescription drugs, such as Vicodin and OxyContin. A recent White House report touted state-based prescription drug monitoring systems as a way to address the growing problem of prescription drug misuse.
- "State Cuts Prescription Drug Monitoring Amid Spike in Pain Pill Deaths" (Jewett, California Watch, 11/8).