Health News
- New Florida Laws Helping Stem Flow Of Pills, But Loopholes Remain And Trade Is Shifting To Other States
Though pill mills continue to be a big problem in Florida, where lax laws have fueled Kentucky's prescription pill trade, there is evidence that the tides are slowly turning in the Sunshine State. "Registered pain clinics in Florida have dropped from...
- Despite New Laws, Florida Still Fuels 'pill Pipeline' To Kentucky
If you thought Florida's recent moves to stop the "pill pipeline" to Kentucky have worked, think again. "Cash-only clinics continue to operate throughout the Sunshine State, with doctors indiscriminately doling out prescriptions for such drugs as...
- Drug Czar Offers Plan To Cut Abuse Of Oxycodone, Related Drugs
The White House drug czar announced today he wants to cut misuse of oxycodone and other opioid drugs by 15 percent in the next five years, and revealed his strategy for how to make that happen. Gil Kerlikowske, the national drug policy director, wants...
- Kentucky Is 'ground Zero' In The War On Drugs, Rogers Says
A Kentucky congressman called "ground zero" in the war against drugs Wednesday as officials gathered in London for the regional meeting of the UNITE Coalition. In attendance was director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowke,...
- Drug Czar Coming To Kentucky To Look At Prescription Pill Abuse
The White House drug czar will visit Kentucky next week to investigate prescription pill abuse, a problem he called "heartbreaking." In a four-day tour, Gil Kerlikowske, President Obama's chief advisor on drug issues, will meet with law-enforcement...
Health News
Three Florida women put pressure on Sunshine State's "pill mills," legislators, governor
As Kentucky officials ask Florida legislators to crack down on pill mills, three Florida women have started a grassroots effort to spread awareness about the problem. Nurse Renee Doyle, respiratory therapist Joy Saghy and nurse Janet Colbert, all of whom have experienced the effects of prescription-drug addiction first-hand, have formed STOPP Now ? Stop the Organized Pill Pushers Now, The Miami Herald's Audra D.S. Burch reports.
To spread awareness, Saghy, Colbert and Doyle host rallies at pain clinics. Their goal is to have oxycodone banned, except when treating advanced cancer, and to support the establishment of a tracking database. About 50 people generally show up at the rallies. Next week, they will go to Tallahassee to meet with senators about the issue. "We will tell them that these pills are destroying our community," Colbert said.
In February, Attorney General Pam Bondi introduced proposals that would cut down on the problem, one of which would be to establish a database that tracks prescription sales. But Florida Gov. Rick Scott is firmly against such a database, saying it is costly and infringes on privacy.
Each day, about seven people die by overdosing on prescription pills, Burch reports. In the first half of 2010, Florida doctors prescribed nine times more oxycodone than the rest of the entire country.
While the problem is reportedly great in Florida, the drugs find their way to Kentucky, through traffickers who travel to Florida to "doctor shop" to gain prescriptions for pain medications at each stop. They then return to Kentucky, which does have a tracking database, to sell the pills they're collected. (Read more)
- New Florida Laws Helping Stem Flow Of Pills, But Loopholes Remain And Trade Is Shifting To Other States
Though pill mills continue to be a big problem in Florida, where lax laws have fueled Kentucky's prescription pill trade, there is evidence that the tides are slowly turning in the Sunshine State. "Registered pain clinics in Florida have dropped from...
- Despite New Laws, Florida Still Fuels 'pill Pipeline' To Kentucky
If you thought Florida's recent moves to stop the "pill pipeline" to Kentucky have worked, think again. "Cash-only clinics continue to operate throughout the Sunshine State, with doctors indiscriminately doling out prescriptions for such drugs as...
- Drug Czar Offers Plan To Cut Abuse Of Oxycodone, Related Drugs
The White House drug czar announced today he wants to cut misuse of oxycodone and other opioid drugs by 15 percent in the next five years, and revealed his strategy for how to make that happen. Gil Kerlikowske, the national drug policy director, wants...
- Kentucky Is 'ground Zero' In The War On Drugs, Rogers Says
A Kentucky congressman called "ground zero" in the war against drugs Wednesday as officials gathered in London for the regional meeting of the UNITE Coalition. In attendance was director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowke,...
- Drug Czar Coming To Kentucky To Look At Prescription Pill Abuse
The White House drug czar will visit Kentucky next week to investigate prescription pill abuse, a problem he called "heartbreaking." In a four-day tour, Gil Kerlikowske, President Obama's chief advisor on drug issues, will meet with law-enforcement...