Finally, the future for a prescription drug monitoring program is looking better every day. According to an April 12th Miami Herald article http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/04/12/2163473/fla-house-panel-oks-compromise.html compromise legislation designed to combat "pill mills" that supply prescription painkillers to drug dealers and addicts cleared a House committee Tuesday after the panel took out Gov. Rick Scott's proposal to repeal Florida's prescription monitoring system. The revised bill (HB 7095) instead would strengthen the database by giving pharmacies only seven days rather than 15 to submit prescription information to the state. Unchanged from the original legislation is a ban on dispensing controlled drugs by most doctors. That means patients would have to get prescriptions filled only at pharmacies. Doctors who violate the ban would face up to five years in prison. The House Appropriations Committee unanimously approved the revised bill. It next goes to the House floor. House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, also pushed for the database repeal, arguing that a ban on dispensing by doctors would be more effective, but Bondi said he's also supporting the compromise and helped bring it about. Bondi and Senate President Mike Haridpolos, R-Merritt Island, have been strong supporters of the tracking system, and the Senate's pill mill bill (SB 818) did not include the repeal.
I urge you to continue pushing your legislators to support the House ( HB7095) and Senate bill (SB818).
The battle is not over yet !!
Yours
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