A TOUGHER LAW AGAINST PILL MILLS

A parent's worst nightmare is having to bury a child. That nightmare
is becoming a tragic reality for far too many families in Florida.

On average, seven people die from prescription drug abuse every day
in Florida. These are not just numbers.

Garrett Harney's last words of despair to his mother were "Mom, I
can't be helped." Garrett overdosed on Oxycontin and Xanax in 2006.
His mother, a Sarasota resident, is now trying to help save lives by
spreading the important message that prescription drug abuse is a
deadly serious problem in Florida.

I held a public forum in Sarasota on Feb. 28 to discuss ways to
combat the growing threat of illegal "pill mills." These so-called
"pain management" clinics are nothing more than drug dealers posing
as doctors and health providers. They have turned Florida into the
nation's warehouse for narcotics. Florida has more pain clinics than
McDonald's restaurants.

As a result of what I heard from families and law enforcement
authorities who attended my public forum, as well as my discussions
with the Drug Enforcement Administration and others, I have drafted
legislation to put these pill mills out of business and make our
communities safer again.

My three-point bill, to be introduced this week in the U.S. House of
Representatives, will do the following:

n Toughen federal penalties for pill mill operators by doubling the
prison sentence from 10 to 20 years and tripling the fine from $1
million to $3 million.

n Use assets seized from violators to fund drug monitoring databases
in the states, enforce actions against pill mills; and for drug
treatment programs. The DEA last month seized an estimated $2.5
million in illicit assets owned by pill mill owners in South Florida.

n Reclassify hydrocodone combination drugs (one of the most addictive
and dangerous drug mixtures) to make them a Schedule II drug that is
more difficult to prescribe and obtain.

I support a state drug database approved by the Florida Legislature
that would allow us to track these narcotics and identify abusive
practices. Florida's prescription drug epidemic has exploded upon us
in just a few short years due to the proliferation of an estimated
1,300 pill mills.

The cost of this epidemic is enormous. Lower employee productivity.
Higher emergency room diagnostic and treatment costs. The high cost
of drug addiction treatment itself.

The $15,000 to $20,000 in costs to treat addicted babies in neonatal
intensive care. The $1.4 million in lifetime costs that addicts incur.

Rising health insurance premiums to pay for uncompensated care. The
burden on taxpayers and society is staggering.

My legislation attacks the root of this problem -- pill mills. The
first responsibility of government is to protect its people from
harm. While there may be sharp differences of opinion about the
ever-growing role of government in the 21st century, I think we would
all agree that shutting down these pill mills, and the pain they have
caused countless families and the costs they have passed along to the
rest of us, should be a high priority.

And we can achieve this goal without appropriating new money or
expanding government. Everyone benefits. Except the drug dealers
posing as health care providers.