Vermont's public safety commissioner says he'll be back next year looking for warrantless police access to a state Health Department database of prescriptions written by Vermont doctors.
Commissioner Keith Flynn says he had hoped to include the measure in a wide-ranging bill passed by the House on Friday to stem drug abuse and reduce overdose deaths.
The bill expands a state prescription drug database designed to keep patients from getting narcotic drugs from multiple doctors. It contains new "good Samaritan" language that allows someone to call for help about a friend who's overdosing without risking prosecution for drug crimes.
It does not include the warrantless search provision, but Flynn says he will work again on that issue next year.
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