It seems to be a trend. Not only are Florida politicians anxious to create a massive new database of consumers' prescription drug habits, but South Carolina politicos are jumping on the bandwagon as well. State House Majority Leader Rick Quinn pushed through a budget panel this week a measure to create just such a system.

According to the Associated Press, the system would be operated by the state Department of Health and Environmental Control and would encompass what the federal Food & Drug Administration (FDA) classifies as Schedule II through Schedule V drugs -- everything from morphine to tylenol-with-codeine.

The massive tracking system is being pushed through not as its own bill, but as an amendment to an omnibus spending bill. Under this budget amendment, pharmacists, state regulators, grand juries and law enforcement could have access to the prescription drugs used by South Carolina's consumers (and their pets).

AP also reported that although grand juries will need subpoenas to look at the information, police and other law officers would need no subpoena or warrant to dig through the database.

A large database such as this provides easy one-stop shopping for stalkers, nosy coworkers, bitter ex-spouses, corrupt cops and the like. Sensitive medical information about hundreds of thousands of South Carolinians is only a hack or a bribe away.

Is giving the Nanny State the keys to our medicine cabinet really going to wipe out prescription drug abuse? Of course not. Bureaucrats and cops cannot take the place of doctors, pastors, and family. But that is of no consequence for Privacy Villains like Quinn who would sacrifice medical privacy to make points on the hot news stories of the day.

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