|
|---|
Newshawk: http://www.novembercoalition.org
Webpage: http://mapinc.org/url/JTCcLhm7
Pubdate: Tue, 12 Oct 2010
Source: Daytona Beach News-Journal (FL)
Copyright: 2010 News-Journal Corporation
Contact:
Website: http://www.news-journalonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/700
Note: gives priority to local writers
STATE CAN SHUT DOWN DANGEROUS 'PILL MILLS'
Florida's disreputable status as the nation's pain pill dispenser
should change soon, thanks to a new state law that took effect Oct. 1.
The law is intended to eliminate "pill mills" -- walk-in clinics that
churn out thousands of prescriptions for powerful painkillers, often
without appropriate medical exams -- and the unsavory kind of tourism
that has grown up around them. According to statistics from the
federal government, Florida has been dispensing hundreds of millions
of pain pills every year. Many of these pills end up in the hands of
"pillbillies" from northern states who travel south to score
potentially addictive pain medications such as oxycodone.
Law enforcement officials compare prescription drug abuse to the crack
cocaine epidemic that fueled addiction and crime in the 1980s. Florida
is ground zero for this new drug scourge. Officials with the state
Office of Drug Control say prescription-drug overdoses kill far more
Floridians -- seven a day -- than all illegal drugs combined.
[Remainder snipped]
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake
| Prev | US CA: Health Overlooked Factor In Marijuana Measure | Get The Facts DrugWarFacts.org |
|---|---|---|
| Next | US CA: Smoke and Spin |