{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cochran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ContentRecord_id=D26B59CF-9D78-4E15-B5C9-8C6735F9E19B", "MISS. PHARMACY BOARD RECEIVES $352,000 FOR PRESCRIPTION DRUG MONITORING", "2016-09-21", "2016", "2016-09", "Republican", "House", "MS", "Thad Cochran", "C000567", "www.cochran.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C \u2013 U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) today announced that the Mississippi Board of Pharmacy has received a $352,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to enhance the state\u2019s prescription drug monitoring program.The DOJ Bureau of Justice Assistance grant is intended to improve the ability of the state to collect and analyze controlled substance prescription data.\u00a0 The award is funded through the Harold Rogers Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, which was created to prevent and reduce the misuse and abuse of prescription drugs, and to stop pharmaceutical crime.\u201cMost overdose deaths in Mississippi and other states are attributed to the abuse of prescription opioids or heroin use.\u00a0 This grant should help the state find the best monitoring and reporting practices to curb wrongful prescriptions and the abuse of these medications,\u201d Cochran said.Mississippi instituted a prescription drug monitoring system in 2014 for licensed physicians who prescribe, administer or dispense any controlled substance in the state.Earlier this year, Cochran supported enactment of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, which became law in July.\u00a0 This law authorizes additional federal support for efforts to assist states and localities in fighting opioid abuse, improving treatments, and coordinating law enforcement efforts.Under Cochran\u2019s chairmanship of the Senate Appropriations Committee, the committee has increased funding by 113 percent to combat opioid abuse.\u00a0 For FY2017, the committee approved resources totaling $132 million for Justice Department programs to help states and local communities combat heroin and opioid abuse.\u00a0 This includes $14.0 million for the DOJ prescription drug monitoring program.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.cochran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ContentRecord_id=D26B59CF-9D78-4E15-B5C9-8C6735F9E19B"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9247260168194771, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}