By James Call
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wfsu/local-wfsu-950247.mp3
Tallahassee, FL – Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is seeking tougher penalties on "so-called" pill mills that supply prescription medicine to drug dealers and addicts. James Call reports Thursday she unveiled a four-pronged strategy to end drug tourism in
Florida.
County, state and federal law enforcement say drug dealers from Kentucky and the Midwest travel to Florida pain clinics and load up on a variety of prescription drugs to sell on the streets of their home towns. Attorney General Bondi describes a cottage industry of more than a thousand pill mills, openly advertising access to prescription pain medicine. At a news conference attended by local police and state and federal prosecutors she held up an alternative newspaper s centerfold featuring a variety of pill mill ads.
"There's pages and pages of ads. They're on billboards, they're in these magazines, newspapers, they're everywhere. And that's why with a united front we're looking at all of these and we're trying not to duplicate effort because resources are so thin. We're working together as a team."
In addition to legislation Bondi's initiative includes more aggressive enforcement and coordination with local and federal prosecutors.