STOP THE SPREAD OF PILL MILLS WITH MORATORIUMS

Florida a Major Place for Prescription Drug Abuse

Thanks to lax regulations covering pain clinics, Florida's
prescription drug trade continues to run rampant and attract
out-of-state buyers and traffickers with wads of cash to buy oxycodone
and other narcotics.

The Sunshine State's reputation as a safe place to purchase bushels
of painkillers by both doctor shopping and presenting bogus medical
claims has lasted too long. Florida should join the more than three
dozen other states that regulate pain clinics - and will once Gov.
Charlie Crist signs legislation that clamps down on the so-called pill
mills.

The opening of a pain clinic on Manatee Avenue West brings the issue
to a boil here, inspiring protesters to picket the site last week.

The Bradenton City Council is getting ahead of the problem by pushing
forward on a moratorium on new clinics before the epidemic spreads
further - a frightening but possible scenario, given the recent
explosion of clinics elsewhere.

To date, South Florida and Tampa have led the state in pill-dispensing
pain clinics. In an April special investigation, the Miami Herald
reported South Florida gained 90 pain clinics in the previous year,
soaring from 60 to 150, according to U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration estimates. The Tampa Bay area ranks second on the
DEA's list. With Manatee County a short drive away, we're at risk
of catching this plague.

Certainly there are many legitimate pain clinics serving patients with
chronic pain from injuries, arthritis and other conditions.

But more oxycodone is sold in Florida than any other state. Some
clinics dispense millions of pills a month in this lucrative trade.

Florida lacks a prescription monitoring system and cannot track
patients buying large quantities of prescription drugs. While Gov.
Crist signed legislation last year that will establish electronic
monitoring, the law will not take effect until next year or later.

Until then, unscrupulous pill mills will continue to dispense hundreds
of oxycodone tablets in single prescriptions with buyers shopping at
different locations to pick up several bottles.

The shocking cost in human terms continues to rise. Oxycodone overdose
deaths soared to 700 between 2005 and 2007 - more than doubling in
that time frame.

Florida's Legislature tackled the issue this past session with a
bill that finally tightens regulations.

The measure limits the number of pain pills in a single prescription
to a 72-hour supply; restricts clinic advertising; requires background
checks on operators and inspections on clinics; only permits doctors
with special training to dispense prescriptions, and grants the state
greater power to close clinics and discipline owners and doctors.

We urge Gov. Crist to sign this vital piece of legislation, sorely
needed to stem the flow of controlled substances to drug abusers and
dealers arriving here from all across the South, East and Midwest.

If signed, the law would take effect until Oct. 1. Physician
qualification requirements would not be implemented until July 2012.

In the meantime, Florida cities and counties can deny the
establishment of new pill mills with moratoriums. Last week, Pinellas
County became the latest government to impose that
restriction.

The Bradenton City Council's push last week for a moratorium
ordinance is a prudent and proactive stand against more clinics
establishing a grip on the city. A draft of the ordinance should be
presented to the council at today's meeting. We urge a moratorium be
implemented as quickly as possible.

As we first opined in a short take Saturday, we recommend Manatee
County follow a similar strategy - and stop pill mills from wrecking
more lives and families.