Chicago licensed approximately 1,500 pharmaceutical representatives due to a citywide ordinance that aims to to slow down over-prescription practices, according to Chicago Sun Times.
Due to the citywide ordinance, which went into effect last year, any pharma rep operating within the city for more than 15 days in a given year must be licensed through the city of Chicago. The licenses cost around $750 each.
"This milestone demonstrates our commitment to protecting residents when it comes to addictive drugs and holding drug representatives accountable if they seek to deceive, mislead or unduly influence the medical community," Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said.
The licensing protocol is a measure to protect people from "predatory marketing of prescription drugs," according to a statement released from the mayor's office. An additional 200 licenses are scheduled to go into effect come August due to Chicago's ongoing federal opioid distributor lawsuit.
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