Crackdown on Broward County "Pill Mills" : Pain Clinics Blamed for Florida Prescription Drug Overdose Deaths
A Miami, Florida news source reports that the Florida Attorney General wants to strengthen the role of the state in closing down clinics illegally distributing narcotic pain medications. Broward County, Florida has come under legal and media scrutiny for the proliferation of shady pain clinics or "pill mills" -- where powerful narcotics such as oxycontin and other opioids are sold to addicts and dealers on the black market. In February, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi introduced a series of proposals for the legislative season aimed at bolstering the state’s role in shutting down these so-called pill mills.
Fort Lauderdale medical malpractice lawyers are familiar with Florida laws restricting the sale of controlled substances such as oxycontin, oxycodone and other narcotic medications. Medication errors are sometimes to blame in patient wrongful deaths; the illegal distribution of opioid prescriptions through pain clinics is an alarming problem, as these medications are highly addictive.
The Miami Herald describes several stories told by grieving families who reportedly lost family members due to illegal drugs obtained at questionable Broward County pain clinics. One mother tells how her son was killed in a fatal pedestrian accident after walking out into traffic while under the influence of oxycodone. Families have formed an advocacy group called STOPP NOW: Stop the Organized Pill Pushers (see link below).
The Florida Attorney General supports operation of a Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, which Florida Gov. Rick Scott has opposed due to privacy issues. This week, a judge in Tallahassee, Fla. cleared the way for the program to begin operation. If Florida's drug monitoring program goes into effect, it will track prescriptions for controlled substances filled by Fla. pharmacists and medical practitioners using a database.
Currently, Florida is the largest state in the U.S. that does not have a drug monitoring system similar to those operating in another 34 states. The problem of unethical pain management clinics operating in Broward County, Florida has received national attention, as families who have lost loved ones to drug overdoses cry out for laws to be changed. Prescription drug addicts may engage in "doctor shopping" -- going from clinic to clinic to obtain narcotic medications. And some medical doctors engage in excessive prescription writing. Unfortunately, Broward County, Florida has become a destination for both addicts and dealers in illegal narcotics.
Ruling could clear way for prescription drug monitoring in Florida
TampaBay.com March 9, 2010
Sons and daughters, lost to a pill epidemic
MiamiHerald.com March 5, 2011
Related Florida Accident Attorney article:
State Attorney Calls West Palm Beach Summit on Florida Pain Clinics and Prescription Drug Abuse Feb. 22, 2010
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