osted on Wed, Dec. 08, 2010; Miami Herald
State lawmakers must not give `pill mills' a pass
The Dec. 3 editorial, Tallahassee's pill mills, correctly points out how the Republican-dominated state Legislature voted to delay the implementation of tough new pain-clinic regulations.
Consequently, unscrupulous clinic operators and drug dealers in white coats, wrongly called ``doctors,'' can continue to churn out prescriptions for powerful painkillers.
Legislators seem more concerned with ideological correctness and purity than the sobering facts detailed in a report released in June by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It indicated that an average of seven Floridians a day die from prescription-drug overdose.
Our lawmakers seem to live in another universe than most of us. In their world, reality has to be adapted to fit political theory. In their world, government regulation can only do harm and never do good. In their world, pain clinics are successful businesses contributing to the overall economy, and more regulations will drive them away from our state.
Legislators forget that the regulations were carefully crafted by Democrats and Republicans to protect Floridians from these unscrupulous businesses.
Now, the proposed rules must be submitted to the Legislature by Feb. 4 to qualify for consideration. Those that don't make it would have to wait until the 2012 legislative session.
I am outraged by this political checkmate and concerned about its adverse impact on public health. This issue is too important to allow politicians to gamble away the lives of Florida residents. We need to return to pragmatism and sound reasoning to address and resolve the problem of prescription-drug abuse in the state. Ideological grandstanding will only worsen the situation. We do not have much time left -- and the clock is ticking.
Bernd Wollschlaeger,MD
North Miami Beach
http://www.miamiherald.com
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/12/08/v-print/1963311/state-lawmakers-must-not-give.html#ixzz17a0ATueT
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