In 2012, state lawmakers were considering legislation regarding prescription painkillers.

The bill would have been called "The Pharmaceutical Accountability Monitoring System."A co-sponsor was State Representative Doyle Heffley. The bill hasn't passed.It would have created a better monitoring system for the dispensing of pain medications.Testifying in favor of the bill was Karen Flexer of Lehighton, who son, Brett, died at the age of 20 from ingesting a pain killer.Flexer testified in Harrisburg in favor of passing the bill.Here's her testimony:Ladies and Gentlemen;First off, let me thank you for taking the time to hear from me today. My name is Karen Flexer and I am from Lehighton. I come here today to seek your support in the passage of House Bill 1651 The Pharmaceutical Accountability Monitoring System.I would like to tell you why I am here and why I think the passage of this legislation is important. My life changed forever on April 23, 2011 when I found my 20 year old son Brett had passed away in his sleep. Before I talk about how he died, let me tell you about how he lived.Brett was an active and fun loving boy. He loved sports and outdoor activities. At a young age he became interested in football and wrestling. Wrestling soon became his passion. He became what might be referred to as a "gym rat". He loved working out and was obsessed with his diet and physical fitness.His hard work paid off, as he became a very successful wrestler in high school. My husband and I and my two other sons, Derrick and Dylan, spent many hours together at tournaments supporting Brett and his teammates. His free time was spent either at the gym working out or running whether it be outside or on the treadmill in our house. There were many mornings that I was awakened to the sound of him getting in an early morning run on the treadmill before school.Brett also was a good student. I never had to worry about him bringing home a bad report card. His hard work, both in the classroom and in the gym, paid off when he was accepted and agreed to attend and wrestle at Lycoming College. This was not an easy choice for him because he had received letters of interest from many colleges.His life was falling into place so effortlessly; he was in college pursuing his dream of criminal justice. He even started talking about going for a double major as his interest in psychology increased. He was a member of the wrestling team and his long time girlfriend was also enrolled in college with him. When he wasn't in class, he could be found at the college gym motivating his friends to work out. The end of the semester was near and we were looking forward to having him home on his Easter break.I brought him home on Easter Thursday and on Good Friday he went out with some of his friends. They had some drinks together, like young adults sometimes do and by all accounts were having a good time. Then he did something that was so out of character for him I still cannot comprehend it.One of the people at the party offered him a pill, and he took it. The pill he took was Opana, it is related to morphine in the same fashion that oxycodone is to codeine. Opana is approximately 6 to 8 times more potent than morphine. It is a controlled substance that when taken with alcohol causes respiratory failure. He was told he was taking Percocet. Saturday is still a blur. Unable to wake him, calling an ambulance, pronouncing him dead in our home, were just some of the horrors that our family was put through. We found out that he only took a half of pill; but by taking half of this pill was more damaging because it is a timed released medication. These young adults are taking these medications and have no idea how they work or the effect it has on their bodies. This one lapse in judgment, whether through peer pressure or clouded judgment through alcohol consumption had catastrophic consequences.My athletically gifted son, a physical fitness fanatic who was never in trouble, was not a drug user and quite simply put was a good kid paid the ultimate price for one bad decision. It was a bad decision that affected his family as well, as we have to live with his loss the rest of our lives.It is my hope that no family has to go through what we have gone through. That is the reason I come before you today to support House Bill 1651. This legislation would go a long way in establishing a traceable trail when suspected abusive prescription drug dispensing is alleged.Under 2704 (c) Purpose, it clearly states, " The purpose of PAMS is to contain data as described in this section regarding every prescription for a controlled substance dispensed in this Commonwealth to any person other than an inpatient in a licensed health care facility or by a hospice care provider." By providing more accountability to the dispensing party, it will help prevent prescription drugs from being provided under fraudulent circumstances. It would make tracking down abusers easier for law enforcement.Section 2705 , titled Requirements for Pharmaceutical Accountability Monitoring System deals with the dispensers responsibility. This is all good information that when analyzed correctly could be useful in spotting abusers. The proposed legislation would be beneficial to law enforcement, making it easier to track potential abuser through the database established under The Pharmaceutical Accountability Monitoring System.You may ask why this legislation concerns me. It is my belief that if this law were in place in April of this year my son would be here today. By making pharmaceutical dispensers more accountable, it would reduce the amount of prescription drugs that are being wrongfully prescribed and abused. Accountability has to start somewhere.