Calif. to bar state-funded Viagra to sex offenders

SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) – Sex offenders in
California will no longer be able to get state-funded
anti-impotence drugs under a bill passed by the legislature on
Monday.

The issue came to light nationwide in May after an audit
showed New York State gave Viagra to nearly 200 sex offenders
in recent years. California subsequently found it had
distributed the drug to 137 offenders between April 2004 and
May 2005 under its Medi-Cal system, said Ken August, a
spokesman for California Health Services.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger followed a May U.S. federal
warning against distributions and told his state agencies to
cut off drugs such as Levitra, Cialis or Pfizer’s Viagra in
such cases until related legislation was passed.

“Giving Viagra to a convicted sex offender is like giving a
gun to a bank robber — it’s irresponsible and puts innocent
people in danger,” said Republican Assemblyman George Plescia
who sponsored the law. “Today we took an important step to
protect innocent families and taxpayers.”

Eli Lilly & Co. and Icos Corp. sell Cialis. Levitra is sold
by Bayer AG and GlaxoSmithKline Plc. Schering-Plough Corp. took
over U.S. marketing rights for Levitra from Bayer last year.