{Frankfort, Kentucky}...Kentucky lawmakers wrapped up a 5-day special session about 6:00 P.M. Friday after passing a measure intended to curb prescription drug abuse in a state where more people die from overdoses than car wrecks. A compromise passed by the House and Senate would require all physicians in the state to use a prescription drug monitoring system. The measure passed the House 68-19 and the Senate 26-11. The House had pressed to give the attorney general control of the monitoring system so investigators could more easily identify and arrest unscrupulous doctors who overprescribe painkillers. In a compromise, that system was left in the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services.
