Delaware House Bill 233 (Prior Session Legislation)

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Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-3)
Status: Introduced on June 18 2019 - 25% progression, died in chamber
Action: 2019-06-19 - Reported Out of Committee (Health & Human Development) in House with 7 On Its Merits
Text: Latest bill text (Draft #1) [HTML]

This Act expands the definition of prescription drug order to include electronic prescribing and makes Gabapentin a Schedule V controlled substance. Gabapentin is a prescription medication which is used to treat partial seizures and neuropathic pain. However, Gabapentin is also used to increase the effects of opioids, which potentially increases the risk of overdose death when used in combination with opioids. Gabapentin has become a drug of abuse with users reporting effects such as euphoria, a marijuana-like high, and other users describing their state after taking the medication to be zombie-like. The United States has seen substantial increases in the rate of Gabapentin prescribing and abuse. Several states, including Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia, have already classified Gabapentin as a Schedule V controlled substance. Classifying Gabapentin as a Schedule V controlled substance in Delaware will permit the State to monitor the prescription of the drug and address issues of abuse.

An Act To Amend Title 16 Of The Delaware Code Relating To The Uniform Controlled Substances Act.

Rep. Debra Heffernan [D]	Sen. Bryan Townsend [D]	Sen. Catherine Cloutier [R]	Sen. Stephanie Hansen [D]
Rep. Paul Baumbach [D]	Rep. Ruth Briggs King [R]	Rep. Ronald Gray [R]	Rep. Kendra Johnson [D]

Date	Chamber	Action
2019-06-19		Reported Out of Committee (Health & Human Development) in House with 7 On Its Merits
2019-06-18		Introduced and Assigned to Health & Human Development Committee in House

Type	Source
Summary	https://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?LegislationId=47737
Text	https://legis.delaware.gov/json/BillDetail/GenerateHtmlDocument?legislationId=47737&legislationTypeId=1&docTypeId=2&legislationName=HB233