By: Whitney Ray
Source: Capitol News
The Florida House passed the pill mill bill Thursday afternoon. Florida is one of only a dozen states that doesn’t have a prescription drug monitoring program. People from as far away as Kentucky are traveling to Florida to load up on painkillers. Representative Ronald Renuart said the state has a responsibility to the surrounding areas to control our narcotics.
“This is not the kind of business we want to attract here in Florida. How many children and young adults do we continue to lose in our state and also how many are we losing in other states because people are taking the pills out of the state of Florida to their own state. This must end,” said Renuart.
The legislation requires doctors and pharmacists to keep track of people who would use prescription narcotics. It’s estimated that between 5 to 7 Floridians overdose on prescription drugs everyday.