This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) _- U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill says it’s time Missouri joins the country’s other 49 states and establishes a prescription drug monitoring program.

The Senate’s Special Committee on Aging heard testimony Tuesday in Jefferson City about how to lower addiction rates for opioid painkillers and heroin.

State Rep. Holly Rehder (RYE-der) told the committee that Missouri’s lack of a monitoring program makes it a target for people from other states seeking as many painkillers as possible. The Sikeston Republican has introduced a bill that would create a monitoring program aimed at identifying potential drug abuse.

A House committee is scheduled to review the measure Wednesday.

State lawmakers have resisted enacting such a program for more than a decade because of worries about the security of a government database with medical information.