PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — More than 20 groups, including the Rhode Island Medical Society and American Civil Liberties Union, are calling on Gov. Gina Raimondo to veto legislation that would allow law enforcement access to an electronic database of prescription painkillers without a warrant.
The groups sent a letter to the Democratic governor saying the legislation would allow law enforcement to invade people’s privacy and would undermine work to combat opioid overdoses.
Raimondo’s office did not immediately respond to a request for her position on the bill approved last month.
The attorney general’s office said the bill would allow law enforcement to investigate “pill mills and drug diversion.”
The letter says the Department of Health already monitors such prescriptions, and there’s no evidence pill mills have contributed significantly to the crisis in Rhode Island.
