Epidemic in Florida: Prescription Drug Abuse

It could be the number of prescriptions filled by the “snow-birds”. These retired Americans move to warmer climates, and usually have prescriptions filled by their insurance or Medicaid.

It could be that controls for prescription drugs are laxer in this area than in other areas.

Whatever the reason, prescription drug abuse has become an alarming trend in Florida. In particular, South Florida has become the largest supplier of illegal prescriptions drugs in the country.  The number of pain clinics and doctor's willing to prescribe these medications has made the area the logical choice for traffickers and drug addicts looking to obtain prescription drugs including powerful painkillers.

Some pharmacies in Florida have instituted a policy of requiring local ID’s to fill prescriptions, only to have sales drop by almost 20%.

“Many people do not realize that prescription drugs can be as addicting as street drugs,” comments Mary Rieser, Executive Director for the Atlanta Recovery Center. “Many get hooked on OxyContin or Percocets, and then switch to heroin because they can’t afford $80 a pill. People in their so-called ‘Golden Years’ are drug addicted as bad as younger counterparts. Instead of enjoying their retirement, they have to get drugs to just make it through the day.”

While some pharmacies have adopted the policy of requiring local ID’s, others have hired bouncers and lookouts in order to alert the owners of the stores to investigators.

"A lot of the mom-and-pop pharmacies, the only way they're surviving is by putting out oxycodone," according Broward Sheriff's Office Sgt. Richard Pisanti.

This requirement does not stop all the traffickers.  It is simple to go to the Florida DMV and get a local ID card made the same day.

The first step to a reasonable solution will be to maintain a database of pill traffickers which will alert local pharmacies when they try to fill prescriptions.  Similar systems put in place in other states have shown success in stopping all but the most determined traffickers.

Statistics show an alarming problem facing America.  Prescription drug abuse which has held steady over the past five years according to the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, with nearly one in five teens (19 percent) abusing prescription medications to get high.

In an interview on the CBS Early Show National Drug Control Policy Director Gil Kerlikowske  said, "The issue of prescription drug abuse, which the Office of National Drug Control Policy has been shouting about from the rooftops, is a significant problem in this country."

The Atlanta Recovery Center provides effective drug rehab for those suffering from prescriptions drug abuse.