Table 1.

History of California’s Prescription Monitoring Program

Date Effective	Brief Description of Policy Content
1939	PMP began  Oldest, continually operational, multiple-copy  prescription program utilizing paper-based  triplicate forms. Applied only to selected  “narcotics” (ie, opium, hashish, marijuana,  cocaine) and limited physicians to issuing not  more than 100 prescriptions in a 90-day period
1972	Mandated Schedule II “narcotics”
1981	Mandated any non-narcotic Schedule II drug
1992	Established Controlled Substances Prescription  Advisory Council to study the PMP
1996	Established an electronic system (CURES) to  monitor prescribing or dispensing of  Schedule II medications, while retaining  the requirement of a triplicate  prescription form
January 1, 2005	California Senate Bill 151 eliminated the  requirement of the 66-year-old triplicate  form and replaced it with a secure  tamper-resistant form for all medications  in Schedules II-V

Abbreviations: PMP, prescription monitoring programs; CURES, Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System.