Beshear Signs Changes To Prescription Drug Law

FRANKFORT, Ky.  --  Governor Steve Beshear has signed legislation that modifies Kentucky's new prescription drug law.

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The second-term Democrat took the action on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after it received final passage in the Legislature. He boasted of a bipartisan effort to tweak the law that had unintended consequences for patients in institutional settings.

Beshear was flanked by Republican Senate President Robert Stivers and Democratic House Speaker Greg Stumbo when he signed the bill that exempts patients in hospitals, nursing homes and hospice centers from rules intended to make it more difficult for addicts to get painkillers.

Kentucky passed a sweeping prescription drug law last year in an effort to crack down on widespread painkiller abuse.