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House Passes Bill To Take On Pill Mills, Fight Drug Abuse
April 22, 2011
The Florida House overwhelmingly approved a plan Thursday to curb prescription-drug abuse, after offering a glimpse of how the “epidemic” is hitting their communities and families.
Reps. Rich Glorioso, R-Plant City, and Fred Costello, R-Ormond Beach, told the House that they have family members who have abused prescription drugs.
“I will tell you it’s devastating on everyone who comes in contact with it,” said Glorioso, who did not identify his family member but indicated the person was taking the painkiller Oxycontin.
In an emotional speech, the usually low-key Rep. John Legg, R-Port Richey, said prescription-drug abuse is “destroying our state.”
“Once and for all, it is time that we kill this monster,” Legg said.
The House voted 116-1 to approve HB 7095, with only Rep. John Tobia, R-Melbourne, opposing it. The full Senate is ready to take up a bill (SB 818) that includes significant differences, and both chambers will have to agree on a final version.
Gov. Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi immediately issued statements praising the House. Florida in recent years has become a magnet for prescription drug abuse, with “pill mills” popping up across the state.
“Today we are one step closer to giving law enforcement and regulators the tools they need to combat pill mills and prescription drug abuse in Florida,” said Bondi, who has made the issue one of her top priorities.
The House bill would place new restrictions on clinics, doctors, pharmacies and drug wholesalers. But in some ways, its passage Thursday was a turnaround from the House leadership’s position early in the legislative session.
At that time, House leaders and Scott called for scrapping a planned prescription-drug database because of concerns that it could infringe on privacy rights. The database, which is aimed at better tracking sales of dangerous drugs, was approved in 2009 but was delayed by a bid dispute. It recently got the OK to start operating.
Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, opposed eliminating the database, and the issue also drew attention from officials as far away as Kentucky. That is because drug users and traffickers have traveled to Florida from other states to get supplies of painkillers.
The House bill will keep the database, though it also would ban drug manufacturers from contributing money to pay for the system. That worries some database supporters because lawmakers have refused to set aside state money for the system.
Drug-company Purdue Pharma recently offered to contribute $1 million to the database, an offer that would not be allowed under the House bill.
The bill also would take steps such as barring most doctors from dispensing two categories of controlled substances in their offices and clinics. That means patients would have to go to pharmacies to get the substances, curbing the ability of unscrupulous clinics to sell painkillers.
Another part of the bill sets up a new permitting process for pharmacies that want to sell the two categories of controlled substances. That process is designed to make sure shady clinics don’t create pharmacies to try to circumvent the ban on doctors dispensing dangerous drugs.
But pharmacies have raised concerns about that requirement, at least in part, because of a March 1, 2012, deadline for getting permits. They are concerned that would not leave enough time for the Department of Health to approve rules and issue permits.
By Jim Saunders
The News Service of Florida
Comments
6 Responses to “House Passes Bill To Take On Pill Mills, Fight Drug Abuse”
The leading killer in drug overdose deaths in the state of Florida is Schedule II controlled substances that are primarily prescribed by untrained or uncaring physicians and filled, in many cases, by pharmacies that know all too well they are filling prescriptions from pill mills. Pharmacies in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties have been filling prescriptions from the south Florida pill mills for years and making a fortune at it. Ask your pharmacy clerks. For example, #120 Oxycodone 80 mg (i know they dont sell it any more) is worth about $900-$1100 at the pharmacy checkout and about $5,000-$7,000 on the street. I would think anyone paying $900 out of pocket for a prescription was send up some kind of flag. Pharmacists have the same protection that physicians do, they are allowed to use their “discretion” in filling prescriptions, dispite what the law says. Do they share any responsibility here? I agree, we don’t need any new laws. Just tell your pharmacist if their pharmacy fills prescriptions for pill mill doctors, you won’t be back. Problem solved.
“Today we are one step closer to giving law enforcement and regulators ”
“The House bill would place new restrictions on clinics, doctors, pharmacies and drug wholesalers”
“The House bill will keep the database, though it also would ban drug manufacturers from contributing money to pay for the system. That worries some database supporters because lawmakers have refused to set aside state money for the system.”
So, more regulations and unfunded mandates. And the Republicans are different, how?
Century girl is talking sense. Let’s try enforcing what we have before we load up more regulations.
Say….is Greg Evers paying attention or does it have to be about guns for him to notice?
You people are crazy if you think the State Government is going to do anything to regulate Physician Gods. They always put it on the back of local Pharmacies. Check the Federal DEA website and see how many doctors in the entire United States have had their license revoked since 2008…. the answer is about three. The Dr.’s that are writing these prescriptions are given permission to write narcotics by the DEA. Why doesnt the DEA go and take back some licenses? Because they are Doctors—excuse me, they are GODS.
I agree with your solution Century girl.
I totally agree century. This bill will put mom and pop pharmacies’ out of business. And the 5000 pill amount will not even cover the elderly or Hospice patients let alone people with chronic issues. All this is going to do is fuel the illegal drug market. A addict will find something to get them high. Meth and herion use will hit the roof..Id put money on it.
Agreeably, the pill mills need to stop. Doctors offices shouldve never been allowed to have, operate and fill their own prescriptions. There has been lack of ability to control these operations. Therefore it has led to them filling only controlled substances and not other pharmacy meds.
However, another part of this bill is to put “restrictions on the quantity of certain drugs” that can be purchased from the wholesaler. This quantity in the bill as passed in the House is currently 5,000 tablets Per Month of in total purchases of drugs such as hydrocodone, morphine, oxycodone, and benzodiazepines. This is Total quatity of all these drugs- all strengths combined. This is a very unreal,
quantity limit. and will cause severe quantity shortages for medications needed for patients suffering from chronic pain, and even acute pain.
For example, as this bill is written, if a chain pharm. Like CVS, Walmart, Walgreens who buy from their own warehouse- could only buy 5000 of total quantity of all these drugs- for all the stores (combined) per month. Again- for All the stores thruout the state. It is an errouneously small number.
Net effect- this will lead to legitimate patients not being able to get meds, that are neccesary to help assist them in pain relief, or treatment of anxiety, just to name a couple of examples.
Solution…implement and followup on laws already in place. The background checks have always been required to open a pharmacy, like fingerprinting etc. Whether it just wasn’t required or wasn’t enforced for the doctors to be able to fill their patients’ preciptions, it Should be required & they should have oversite, just like retail pharmacy Is already! More laws are not th answer. Just enforce the ones already in place would be a good start.