Seven Floridians die each day from prescription drug overdoses, and on Thursday Attorney General Pam Bondi set out her plan to combat that statistic, pushing for more stringent rules governing pill mills.
The new rules would create standards of care for physicians who operate and work in pain clinics, many of which have become merely drug-dealing dispensaries in recent years, with doctors prescribing powerful narcotics to patients for dubious reasons.
Included in the standards are mandatory drug screenings and a thorough physical examination before dispensing 72 hours' worth of a controlled substance. There will also be greater oversight of records relating to controlled substances, with greater access to the records for law enforcement. Doctors who violate the new standards could face a six-month suspension and a $10,000 fine.
Our state has become the destination for distributors and sellers (of prescription drugs) and it has got to stop, Bondi said.
Law enforcement officials say Florida is the leader in drug tourism, the preferred state for addicts and dealers alike from states such as Georgia and Kentucky to pick up illegitimate prescriptions.
Theyre coming down here, obtaining prescriptions, and theyre returning to their home state and selling them, said Ken Tucker, assistant commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Prosecutors and officials in law enforcement are eager to have the new rules, which they say will give them a freer hand in dealing with unscrupulous doctors. The earliest the rules can be implemented is March 8, the first day of the 2011 legislative session.
Legislators passed a law during a special session in November requiring legislative approval and oversight of new rules that could cost $200,000 or more per year. Gov. Rick Scott made a similar move via an executive order that halted the progression of new rules in order to give him enough time to review them before they came into effect. But Bondi said Thursday that Scott is on board with the pill mill rules.
She also touted legislative support from House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, and Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, and said the rules will be given high priority when the legislative session begins.
Even if the rules are quickly approved by the Legislature, however, officials admitted they likely will be unable to stamp out illegal prescription drug abuse.
The problem lies with the popularity of hard-core narcotics like Oxycontin and antidepressants like Xanax. The drugs have legitimate uses for some maladies, but even if all illegitimate prescriptions are wiped out, there is little to stop a cancer patient from selling his or her painkillers to relieve the financial pain incurred from the disease.
Then there is the issue of determining the valid prescriptions from the illegitimate ones. Bondi and other officials said they recognize there are pain clinics that provide benefits and abide by the law. Law enforcement officers say most of the cases involving pill mills are egregious -- heavy painkillers are prescribed for minor aches. But after a physician is arrested, a battle of doctors ensues, with experts for the prosecution and defense each claiming a prescription is legitimate or illegitimate.
Statewide prosecutor Nick Cox said the new standards will help draw a clearer line between crooked doctors and physicians who stay within the bounds of the law, and help their case in court.
Thats part of the problem, it does get fuzzy. Thats why its so critical to have these standards, Cox said.
Reach Gray Rohrer at grohrer@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
