Pill mill legislation ready for House vote
by John Kennedy | April 20th, 2011The House gave preliminary approval Wednesday to legislation aimed at closing “pill mills” that dispense painkillers and other prescription medications to drug dealers and addicts.
The measure (CS/HB 7095) advances the state’s plan to establish a prescription drug database, which earlier had been opposed both by Republican Gov. Rick Scott and House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, who have since reversed field and support the plan.
Scott even testified before a congressional committee last week touting Florida’s steps toward cracking down on pill mills, including those he initially condemned.
The legislation, poised for a final House vote Thursday, would include strict new regulations for doctors, pain-management clinics and prescription drug distributors, while also imposing new limits on pharmacies.
The Senate’s version of the legislation (CS/SB 818) is still awaiting a full vote by the chamber.
The database push has been opposed by the Florida Medical Association and requires nearly all health care professionals, including doctors, to register with the state before prescribing controlled substances.
It also requires they use tamper-proof prescription pads, and forces health care providers to keep a log of all pain medications prescribed and give the log to law enforcement officials if requested.
Tags: database, pill mills
April 20th, 2011 at 6:44 pm
The prescription monitoring program is long overdue,but the bill includes a permitting process that favors chain pharmacies over independents and that is unacceptable.
April 20th, 2011 at 7:34 pm
This bill is a death blow to all independent pharmacies in the state. Florida needs a controlled medication database in order to curb abuse, not to deny independent pharmacies the ability to service their patients.
If you agree, sign this petition: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/florida-house-bill-7095-would-put-your-local-pharmacy-out-of-business/
April 20th, 2011 at 8:08 pm
We already have a law in place for the Rx drug database. We have already passed laws to put pill mills out of business. And the prior administration even announced a multi-agency task force over a year ago. It is ABOUT TIME the new Governor and Attorney General figured out what was going on. Meanwhile—7 people die a day!
April 20th, 2011 at 9:20 pm
Seven people die everyday? From their own choice to abuse prescription drugs? I view that as thinning the herd, or improving the gene pool.
April 20th, 2011 at 10:28 pm
Doctors are CHOOSING to give people LETHAL SYNTHETIC TYPE HEROIN for one reason , greed.
Doctors don’t have a right to kill stupid people. How can the FDA not do anything about drugs they APPROVE that kill Zillions.?
They should be tried for murder.
How can the Medical Association support 89% of all OXYcoootin in the Nation being sold, probalyb ly most to addicts that Drs created, in fl
April 21st, 2011 at 9:41 pm
Finally Florida getting it right. Most of oxycodone come out of independent pharmacies ..we all know that.
April 24th, 2011 at 8:15 am
@dider null bhuiyan
Prior to October 2010, pain clinics were dispensing oxycodone by the millions, much more than independent pharmacies. It wasn’t until new laws were enacted that they ceased to do so. On top of that, CVS, Walgreens, all of those chain pharmacies fill just as much oxycodone prescriptions (if not more) as any other independent pharmacy. Please do your research before commenting. It is not fair for you, or the Legislature, to target independent pharmacies as if they’re the source of the problem.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/florida-house-bill-7095-would-put-your-local-pharmacy-out-of-business/
May 9th, 2011 at 12:18 am
People get so caught up in preventing problems that they forget what freedom means. Freedom means the right to die how you want… even if that is at the hands of an addiction. Addiction should be a private matter handled by the private sector and family. Americans are greatly losing freedoms fast.