South Carolina Lawmakers in Medical Fields File More Medical Legislation--including bills related to compounding and pharmacy by Rick Brundrett Google+ Feb. 4, 2015, 8 a.m.

o far this legislative session, Rep. Kit Spires has filed seven bills, five of which are pharmacy-related.

It just so happens that the Lexington County Republican is a pharmacist and pharmacy owner.

The Nerve in December reported about three pharmacy-related bills that Spires had prefiled. He introduced two more on Jan. 20.

Last week, Rep. Deborah Long introduced a bill allowing optometrists to continue prescribing certain drugs reclassified by the federal government from Schedule III to Schedule II on or after last Oct. 6. That would include, for example, the popular painkiller Vicodin. The current law that would be amended by the bill generally prohibits optometrists from prescribing Schedule I and II controlled substances. more