KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) Kansas is getting a $400,000 federal grant to improve its prescription drug monitoring program to combat what U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom calls the nation’s fastest-growing drug problem.
Grissom announced the grant to the Kansas Board of Pharmacy on Tuesday. The board will use the money to strengthen the Kansas program and find new ways to share information between states.
Kansas pharmacies report all controlled substances they dispense to the monitoring program. Grissom says the system is designed to help doctors track their own prescribing practices and their patients’ experiences with controlled substances.
Grissom says far more Americans abuse prescription drugs than the total number of those who use cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens and inhalants.