Governor Announces Task Force to Target Pain Clinics
Gov. Rick Scott announced Monday that the state would set aside $800,000 for a statewide drug strike team to help law-enforcement shut down so-called "
pill mills."
Scott, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey announced the creation of the strike team at a news conference Monday. The group, Scott said, would use staff from several agencies to provide support to local law-enforcement officials investigating
drug trafficking.
Law-enforcement officials estimate more than 1,100 pain clinics statewide function as "pill mills" — dispensing or prescribing dangerously large amounts of pain medication that is often then sold on the street for a profit. A 2009 report found that seven people a day were dying of prescription-drug overdoses.
On Monday, Scott released figures showing that 98 of the top 100 doctors dispensing oxycodone nationally are in Florida — concentrated in the Miami, Tampa and Orlando areas. The 126 million oxycodone pills dispensed through Florida pharmacies are "by far" more oxycodone than is dispensed the other 49 states combined, his office said.
With this crackdown, it is clear that prescription drug trafficking has become an even bigger priority than it has been in the past.
If you recall prior posts, I have dicussed at length the harsh
mandatory minimum sentences associated with drug trafficking convictions.
If you are charged with trafficking in prescription drugs, you need to prepare yourself for a legal battle. The State will be seeking to enforce the mandatory sentences, which in some case may be as high as 25 years in prison for literally a handful of pills.