Cumulative number of states authorizing prescription drug abuse-related laws by type of law, United States, 1970-2010

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	Doctor Shopping	Immunity	ID req.	Pain Clinic	Physical exam req.	Rx limit	Tamper-resistant forms
1947
1961
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971					1
1972
1973	2
1974					2	1
1975						2
1976
1977
1978	3
1979					3	3
1980						4
1981					4
1982						5
1983					5	6
1984					6	7
1985						8
1986					9	9
1987	4				10	10
1988			1			11
1989	5		2
1990	8		3
1991	9					12
1992						15
1993					11
1994
1995	10		4		12	16
1996			5		14
1997					15
1998					16		1
1999					18	17
2000					21	20
2001	11				26
2002	13		8				3
2003					29	22	5
2004			9		31	23	7
2005				1		27
2006			12		32	30
2007	15	1	15		35		10
2008	16	2	17		39	31	22
2009		3	18	3	41	33	25
2010		4	19		42		26

Each date used in the chart is the date the specific provision was first effective, and the chart includes laws enacted through August 31, 2010. When a state had multiple provisions within a single type of law, the graph reflects the provision with the earliest effective date. The date used in this chart was the date of enactment of the most current version of the law.  The original enactment date could often not be determined for older laws.  In those cases, the laws were omitted from this figure.

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Please note that the effectiveness of these seven types of laws has not been evaluated by CDC. CDC's survey of these laws is intended to provide a picture of the legal and regulatory environment surrounding this important public health problem, not to evaluate or judge the effectiveness of each state's approach to this epidemic.