Illinois will be the first state in the nation with a program to dispense some prescriptions in locking pill bottles.
Under the one-year pilot program, pharmacies can opt to put addictive painkillers, like Vicodin, in bottles with built-in combination locks. The state will offer rebates to participating retailers to cover the additional cost of the bottles.
Democratic Rep. Michael Zalewski, who sponsored legislation creating the program, said easy access to painkillers has sent many in the state on the path to addiction.
“Had these locking caps been available and put on these bottles, it would have been the barrier necessary to prevent these people’s families from a lot of heart ache.”
When surveyed, seventy percent of teens who abuse prescription drugs say they got pills from home medicine cabinets, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
