I started working at the DLCC three weeks ago, and part of my job is to track the accomplishments of our elected leaders. Last week, I took a look at the Pennsylvania legislature’s website and was immediately touched by the first story listed on the “Week in Review” page.

Gov. Ed Rendell just signed a Senate Bill into law establishing what’s known as the Cancer Drug Repository Program. This bill, identical to Rep. Tim Solobay’s H.B. 186, allows cancer patients to donate their unused prescription medications so that lower-income patients or those without insurance can buy them at a reduced price.

All-too-often cancer patients are prescribed medication in three-month dosages, and before that time is up, there is a change in the doctor’s treatment plan and the old medicine becomes useless. Under the new program those drugs would no longer be discarded, they would be used to benefit less fortunate patients, which to me, makes it not only economical but also potentially life-saving.

Rep. Solobay is becoming a pioneer in prescription thriftiness, drafting another bill that would incorporate prescription drugs of all varieties into this program. While prescription drugs are becoming more expensive and out of reach for those in need, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, literally! Rep. Solobay is on point with these ideas, and I am eager to see what he’ll accomplish next.

Megan Hannigan is a Klindt/Dye Intern for the 2008 Summer Semester