An Act Regarding Controlled Substances Prescription Monitoring Activities
Summary
LD 1277 amends Maine’s controlled substances prescription monitoring law to exclude anabolic steroids from the definition of “controlled substance” for purposes of the Controlled Substances Prescription Monitoring Program. As a result, prescriptions and dispensing records for anabolic steroids would no longer be tracked in the state’s prescription monitoring database under this program.
The bill also directs the Department of Health and Human Services to immediately purge all existing anabolic-steroid-related information from the monitoring program’s records once the act takes effect. In addition, it includes appropriations to cover database maintenance changes and the one-time cost of deleting existing records, totaling $77,000 in General Fund money for fiscal year 2026-27.
Impact
The bill changes Title 22, section 7246, narrowing the scope of substances covered by Maine’s prescription monitoring program by carving out anabolic steroids. It also requires DHHS to remove prior anabolic steroid prescribing and dispensing data from the Controlled Substances Prescription Monitoring Program, affecting how the state collects, stores, and uses prescription surveillance information. The fiscal note provides funding for system updates and record purging, but the practical legal effect is to exempt anabolic steroids from ongoing monitoring under this program.
Sentiment
The recorded votes suggest the bill received majority support but was not unanimous, indicating some legislative division over the policy change. The House vote on the amended report was 79-66, and the subsequent vote to accept the majority ought-to-pass-as-amended report was 21-13, showing that the measure advanced with a clear but contested majority. Overall, the sentiment appears generally favorable among supporters of the amendment, but with meaningful opposition from members who were not persuaded by removing anabolic steroids from the monitoring system.
Contention
The main point of contention is whether anabolic steroids should remain subject to prescription monitoring alongside other controlled substances. Supporters appear to favor exempting them from the database and eliminating existing records, while opponents likely object to reducing oversight of a substance that can be misused or diverted. A secondary issue is the administrative and fiscal burden of modifying the database and purging records, though the bill addresses that with dedicated funding.