PEORIA, Arizona - December 21, 2010 - Peoria could become the first Arizona city to require fingerprinting at pharmacies when picking up prescriptions for commonly abused drugs in an effort to curb an escalating number of fraud cases.
Peoria law-enforcement officials this month proposed an ordinance that would require anyone filling prescriptions for drugs such as OxyContin and Percocet to show ID and be fingerprinted at the pharmacy counter, including anyone picking up a prescription for a family member or friend.
Peoria City Attorney Steve Kemp said the proposal could provide better evidence to prosecute cases.
Dan Pochoda, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, called it an overreaction "This raises serious concerns about intrusion of privacy," Pochoda said.
Kemp said he expects to present details of the plan to the Arizona State Board of Pharmacy in January and to seek its input.
He said it's likely he will return to the City Council by March with the proposed ordinance.
States such as New York, Nevada and Texas similarly require ID when purchasing commonly abused prescriptions. None has gone so far as requiring fingerprints.
Peoria's proposal stems from what officials say is an escalating local and national concern.
According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, prescription-drug abuse is second to marijuana as the country's most prevalent drug problem.
Prescription-fraud cases in Peoria have doubled since 2009, from 50 to 100, which only counts cases police had leads to follow.
He said fingerprints would only be checked if there was reason to verify a person's ID in a suspected fraud case.
But is fingerprinting the answer? Is it even legal?
Kemp said he thinks it would hold up in court. He said he sees it as similar to the other instances where fingerprinting is already required.
John Norton, a spokesman for the National Community Pharmacists Association described the Peoria proposal as "one of the most stringent ones we have heard of."
Mindy Smith, chief executive of Arizona Pharmacy Alliance, said the proposal may not end fraud."Those who seek drugs fraudulently would simply go elsewhere," she said.
Sgt. Ed Wessing, spokesman for Mesa police, said he saw no harm in requiring IDs to fill prescriptions, "but who picks and chooses what kinds of medications to regulate and combinations of medications can be problematic." He declined comment on the fingerprinting aspect.
Pochoda of the ACLU said that to collect fingerprints of everyone filling a prescription is "like saying we'll take a blood sample of every person, and later if they are a suspect we'll use it."
