Gov. Rick Scott signed a high-profile bill Friday to try to root out Florida’s illicit — and deadly — trade in prescription painkillers.
“I am proud to sign this bill which cracks down on the criminal abuse of prescription drugs,’’ Scott said in a prepared statement as he visited Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and Orlando for bill-signing ceremonies. “This legislation will save lives in our state, and it marks the beginning of the end of Florida’s infamous role as the nation’s pill mill capital.’’
After weeks of sometimes-contentious debate, lawmakers passed the 98-page bill May 6, the final day of the spring legislative session. In part, it would ban most doctors from dispensing two categories of controlled substances in their offices or clinics.
Also, it takes steps such as increasing penalties against doctors involved in wrongdoing and requiring a new permitting process for pharmacies that dispense controlled substances. That permitting process is designed to prevent fly-by-night pharmacies from acting as suppliers.
The bill also keeps in place a plan to use a prescription-drug database to help track dispensing of controlled substances. That issue touched off a brouhaha early in the legislative session, as Scott and some House leaders called for scrapping the database because of privacy concerns.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, who helped broker passage of the bill, issued a statement Friday that alluded to Florida’s national reputation as a magnet for prescription-drug abusers and traffickers. Pain clinics have popped up throughout the state in recent years, drawing drug purchasers from as far away as Kentucky and Ohio.
“Not a day goes by that I don’t hear a story of someone who has lost a family member or friend to prescription drug abuse,’’ Bondi said. “This legislation will make significant strides in ridding Florida of unscrupulous doctors and pill mills, making our state a safer place to live and raise our families.’’
Lawmakers also passed wide-ranging bills in 2009 and 2010 to try to shut down shady clinics and reduce abuse of painkillers such as oxycontin. But problems have persisted in many parts of the state — as evidenced by two lawmakers standing up on the House floor this spring to discuss family members who have prescription-drug problems.
While state leaders praised the new bill Friday, Paul Sloan, president of the Florida Society of Pain Management Providers, expressed skepticism.
Sloan said the “most troubling fact” is that the best way to deal with the drug problems is by addressing addiction issues that drive demand. Instead, he said in an e-mail that such laws are an attempt to “arrest our way out of the predicament.’’
By Jim Saunders
