Cracking down on pill mills

The Florida House has passed a bill that will crack down on “pill mills” that supply prescription painkillers to addicts and drug dealers. The bill originally included a repeal of the state’s prescription tracking system scheduled to begin in August. University of Florida Pharmacy Professor Dr. Paul Doering says it is a debate between lowering statewide drug abuse and infringement on privacy. Doering says he’s unsure of how effective the tracking system would be.

“I’m concerned it might not achieve its best intended purposes. First of all, as I understand it, participation would be voluntary on the part of health professionals. Secondly, people who abuse these kinds of drugs and sell these kinds of drugs often use aliases and assumed identifications and so forth,” he said.

Governor Rick Scott proposed the repeal, but has sinced backed down due to strong support for the tracking system from Attorney General Pam Bondi and Senate President Mike Haridopolos.