MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Gov. Scott Walker plans to sign a package of bills aimed at curbing opiate abuse. The governor planned to sign the bills during visits Thursday to hospitals and medical centers around the state. The package includes measures that would increase funding for treatment programs; criminalize the use of masking agents in drug tests; require health care providers to consult a database of prescription drug users before dispensing a monitored drug; allow regulatory boards to develop guidelines for prescribing drugs; and require state certification for pain clinics. Rep. John Nygren, a Marinette Republican, is pushing the package as part of a series of reforms to combat heroin and opiate abuse. His daughter, Cassie, has struggled with a heroin addiction for the last several years.
