S-0634.1                   _______________________________________________

                                            SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 8007

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State of Washington                              53rd Legislature                             1993 Regular Session

By Senators Wojahn, West, Sheldon and Sellar

Read first time 01/29/93.  Referred to Committee on Health & Human Services.

Petitioning Congress and the President to authorize the Federal Food and Drug Administration to study a transitional nonprescrip

          TO THE HONORABLE BILL CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED, AND TO THE FEDERAL FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION:

          We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:

          WHEREAS, The Federal Food and Drug Administration establishes two classes of drugs:  Prescription drugs, which include specific habit-forming drugs and drugs not safe for use except under the direct supervision of a licensed physician because of toxicity or other serious adverse reactions; and nonprescription or over-the-counter drugs, which are generally regarded as safe for consumers to use by following the required label directions and warnings and may be purchased without a prescription; and

          WHEREAS, The Food and Drug Administration has changed forty-six drugs from prescription to over-the-counter status and is currently considering changing the status of twenty additional drugs; and

          WHEREAS, With so many new drugs being shifted from prescription to over-the-counter status, the potential for medication misuse greatly increases, particularly in the area of adverse drug reactions; and

          WHEREAS, The problem of medication misuse of both prescription and over-the-counter medications is spreading, particularly among the elderly, as consumers over the age of sixty-five years are twice as likely to suffer harmful drug reactions when compared with the general population; and

          WHEREAS, Elderly consumers over sixty years of age, who comprise seventeen percent of the country's total population, account for fifty-one percent of all deaths and thirty-nine percent of hospitalizations from improper medication use; and

          WHEREAS, Medication misuse costs money, for example, in California alone, medication misuse among the elderly over the past seven years has accounted for over seven hundred thirty-six million dollars in health care costs; and

          WHEREAS, Responsible self-medication is the informed and appropriate use of nonprescription medicines for the relief of symptoms, as well as the treatment, prevention, and cure of certain conditions; and

          WHEREAS, Over-the-counter medications play an integral and valuable role in our health care system, providing low-cost nonprescription medicines; and

          WHEREAS, With more prescription drugs being made available over-the-counter, a transitional class of drugs should be utilized, so that certain prescription drugs being considered for over-the-counter release can be evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration, manufacturers, and pharmacists for a specific period, with the goal of decreasing the time needed for the Food and Drug Administration to approve a drug for over-the-counter status; and

          WHEREAS, Pharmacists licensed in this state have lengthy education on the actions and indications of drugs, adverse drug reactions, and drug interactions, and, as the most highly trained health care professionals in pharmacology, are the most qualified to determine the potential effects of drugs on patients;

          NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that the President and the Congress of the United States authorize the Food and Drug Administration to study a new transitional nonprescription drug category that designates drugs available for sale only through a licensed pharmacist, so that certain prescription drugs being considered for over-the-counter release can be evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration, manufacturers, and pharmacists for a specific period, with the goal to decrease the time needed for the Food and Drug Administration to approve a drug for over-the-counter.

          BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable Bill Clinton, President of the United States, the Federal Food and Drug Administration, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.

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