EVEN WITH LOOPHOLES, PILL MILL LAW A GOOD STEP

THE ISSUE: Some Loopholes In Pill Mill Law.

Sure, there are loopholes in the new pill mill law, as critics have
been quick to point out.

That shouldn't come as a shock to anyone. You would be hard-pressed to
find much legislation that doesn't have loopholes. The totally perfect
bill has yet to be passed.

What is important, however, is that the pill mill law was approved by
the Florida Legislature after much debate, and it beats the
alternative, which would be no bill at all in a state that leads the
nation in prescription drug abuse.

Floridians and lawmakers should give the bill some time, to see if it
is effective. If not, problems can always be addressed with tweaks.
And lawmakers - some of whom kept opposing a needed pill mill
database because of supposed "privacy" rights and government intrusion
- - can work on making the bill stronger, if needed.

Critics of the bill that was passed said loopholes would weaken the
attempt to combat pill mills and prescription drug abuses. Among the
loopholes: checking the prescription database is not required, certain
doctors are exempted, and patients will not have to get regular urine
tests to detect pill abuse.

Those are issues that need to be addressed, and maybe next year
lawmakers can address them instead of wasting time with less relevant
opposition.

Supporters of the bill say the loopholes are minor. We're not so sure,
but now law enforcement has some more tools to help in what had been
an uphill battle against pill mill operations and users.

Even before the legislation passed, there was evidence of change in
pill mill operations. Police say that arrests and increased oversight
have cut down on the number of clinics. There are 183 in South
Florida, down from 218 in October. There are also now 838 clinics
statewide, down from 911 in October.

With the new rules now in place, doctors will automatically lose their
licenses for six months and be fined $10,000 for violations.

The new regulations and the computer database are welcome additions to
Florida's fight against prescription drug abuse, particularly since
the database survived against so much original opposition from
lawmakers and Gov. Rick Scott.

Perfect? No. But the tools are now in place for law enforcement to
better fight the battle.

BOTTOM LINE: Legislation a strong step in the right
direction.