Our nations fight against illicit drugs has taken a very dangerous turn, with some of the most deadly and popular recreational drugs being found in family medicine cabinets and ever growing numbers of pain clinics.
Every day, seven Floridians die from prescription-drug overdoses, a tragedy five times greater than deaths from all other illegal drugs combined.
Sadly, our state has become the epicenter for this abuse, with illegal pain clinics saturating our communities and dispensing millions of deadly pills that end up on our streets and in the hands of our children. We must make stopping prescription drug abuse and shutting down pill mills that illegally dispense these drugs a top priority.
Florida has taken important steps forward in this fight by the recently enacted state laws, but more must be done to ensure that Florida is no longer a favorite destination for drug dealers, and the fraud and abuse which accompany the problem.
As a career prosecutor, Ive seen the devastating effects that drug and alcohol abuse can have on our communities and I have personally gone into schools to speak to countless teens about the dangers of drunk-driving, drug use, and the importance of staying in school.
As Floridas next attorney general, I will draw from my experience to create and implement a statewide, strategic plan that focuses on prevention, enforcement, treatment and state-level leadership.
I strongly believe that we need to lock up drug dealers for as long as possible, and will work with law enforcement to provide them the support they need to continue their already successful efforts.
I also believe that prevention is the linchpin to reducing prescription-drug abuse and I will work with Floridas prevention coalitions and law enforcement officers to create these important and potential life-saving resources for schools and parents to utilize.
I will also take a leadership role in annual Take Back programs at local pharmacies which generate attention to the issue of prescription-drug abuse, and have created a way for adults to safely dispose of unused, unwanted, and expired medicine.
I believe we should create incentives to encourage all medical professionals to utilize the states newly created Prescription Monitoring Program Database, and I will support the necessary funding to make the database successful.Collaboration between law enforcement and health care professionals to ensure that prescription-drug abuse is minimized, while the rights of patients who legitimately need medication are maintained, is an important part of the process and will help lead to less fraud and abuse of the taxpayers money.
Treating individuals who have been consumed by addiction is another essential element to winning the fight against prescription-drug abuse. I will work closely with the Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association and other public and private agencies to increase comprehensive drug treatment programs and help those battling addiction return to healthy, productive roles in their families, communities and workplaces.
As attorney general, I will create a statewide prescription-drug abuse task force, headquartered in Broward, to work with existing organizations, pool law enforcement resources and support the already successful efforts of our law enforcement to aggressively pursue illegal prescription-drug activity.
I will also lead an annual Prescription-Drug Fraud and Abuse Summit to facilitate sharing information and collaborate on best practice ideas.
Our states prescription-drug crisis impacts the lives of so many Floridians and threatens the prosperity of our state. If elected attorney general, this will be a top priority of mine and I will do everything in my power to stop prescription-drug abuse and shut down pill mills in our state.
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Pam Bondi is the Republican nominee for attorney general of Florida.
