BILL WOULD TOUGHEN PENALTIES FOR 'PILL MILLS'

SARASOTA -- U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, announced today that
he was proposing legislation designed to halt the rampant growth in
Florida of bogus pain clinics, or "pill mills."

Saying "drug dealers posing as doctors" are able to operate lucrative
clinics that dispense addictive prescription drugs, Buchanan outlined
a plan that would toughen penalties and fines.

The legislation also calls for using assets seized from pill mill
operators to fund prescription drug databases in states like Florida.

Another feature of the proposed legislation is the reclassification of
narcotic drugs that are most abused in order to render them more more
difficult to obtain, Buchanan said.

Appearing with Buchanan was Ruth Lyerly, a Bradenton mom whose son,
Todd, 18, committed suicide in 2005 after becoming so discouraged
about overcoming his addiction that he told her: "'I just can't be
helped,'" Lyerly said after a news conference.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott wants to kill a proposed prescription tracking
system designed to crack down on "pill mills" that supply pain killers
and other illicit medications to drug dealers and addicts.

Florida is the largest of about a dozen states that does not have a
prescription monitoring system in place.

This has resulted in caravans of addicts from other states travellng
to Florida to get prescription drugs. Of the nation's top 100 doctors
who dispense oxycodone, 92 are in Florida, according to the Drug
Enforcement Administration.

Buchanan's bill would double the penalties and triple the fines for
drug violators and use assets seized to fund prescription drug
databases in states like Florida. It also would reclassify one of the
most abused and deadly narcotics to make it more difficult to obtain,
according to a news release.

"Many of these so-called pain clinics are nothing more than illegal
drug distribution networks that bring untold misery to our children,
our families and our communities," Buchanan said in the release.
"Today we take a crucial step toward putting them out of business."

In the release, Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight called the bill
"responsive to the needs of law enforcement," adding, "enhanced legal
remedies such as those included in this legislation are critical if we
are going to discourage unscrupulous and rampant pill mill
operations."

Specifically, Buchanan's bill would:

. 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.

. Stipulate assets seized from violators to be sold and the proceeds
used: to fund drug monitoring databases in the states; to fund DEA
enforcement actions against pill mills; and, to support drug treatment
programs within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration. The DEA last month seized an estimated $2.5 million in
illicit assets owned by pill mill owners in South Florida.

. 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.

A powerful member of the U.S. House endorsed Buchanan's
proposal.

"Congressman Buchanan's bill gets it absolutely right," said Rep. Hal
Rogers, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, of which
Buchanan is a member.

"Prescription drug abuse is trampling our communities, destroying
families, and worst of all harming our children, particularly
throughout Appalachia. More and more of my colleagues are joining the
fight to put these unregulated pill mills out of business and the
pushers behind bars," co-founder and co-chair of the Congressional
Caucus on Prescription Drug Abuse.

"I applaud Congressman Buchanan's efforts in leading his state and I
believe this bill is another important and thoughtful step in our
fight to end the scourge of prescription drug abuse," Rogers said.