Pill Mill bill passes House, up to Senate now
by Kimberly Miller | April 28th, 2010House members unanimously passed a bill this afternoon that cracks down on pain clinics, also known as pill mills.
The bill, (SB 2272) was amended in the House to include a provision that physicians will not be able to dispense more than a 72-hour supply of controlled substances to a patient without a prescription.
The addition means the bill will go back to the Senate for a vote.
“These pain management clinics have opened up and are peddling the oxy’s and roxy’s to our citizens,” said bill sponsor Rep. John Legg, R-Port Richey. “This regulates them to the point where they can no longer operate in the state and hopefully, once and for all, we shut down the flamingo express, as it’s called in other states.”
The bills were filed after The Palm Beach Post reported that more than 30 pain clinics have opened in Palm Beach County since 2007, including a handful of offices started by convicted drug dealers and other criminals. Many are clustered in the county’s south end, near Broward County, where a state grand jury was empaneled in March to investigate.
Tags: pill mills
April 28th, 2010 at 1:55 pm
This makes no sence.
QUOTE FROM ARTICLE :
“The bill, (SB 2272) was amended in the House to include a provision that physicians will not be able to dispense more than a 72-hour supply of controlled substances to a patient without a prescription. ” END QUOTE.
From my understanding these pill mill Dr’s dispense from there offices, so they would have to write a prescription to account for the medication.
So, now someone can get a 72 hr supply without a script?
I am sorry but maybe i am reading it wrong, but to me this makes not a drop of sence.
April 28th, 2010 at 9:49 pm
I am a doctor, and I didn’t even know that you could provide a controlled substance to a patient without a prescription. Medicine in Florida sure is the Wild West.
April 30th, 2010 at 2:17 pm
I am also confused there is a prescription needed for 72hours before and after all meds prescribed. I think the writer wrote this improperly. Please correct
May 19th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
I believe they have to add the part about the prescription just to make it clear that a prescription is required. The people who run these pill mills are shady characters and will try to reword the bill to their advantage. The bill is written so the government can cover their asses if needed.
I watched a documentary on this recently, and some of these pill junkies were so hooked that they would spend their whole day going from dispensary to dispensary to try and get as many oxy as they could. It’s not very easy because these dispensaries are jam packed with “patients”. The pills could go for about $500 a bottle. Florida has no (maybe now they do) tracking system on how many pills they dispense to whom.
May 19th, 2010 at 9:23 pm
Why is it the HONEST chronic pain person or someone who is having a real bad life because there bodies are bad have to pay for the dihonest and unscrupulous people out there. Our politician always try a quick fix instead of getting it RIGHT and they do this everytime.This country needs an overhaul asap.