By TomFlanigan
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wfsu/local-wfsu-955698.mp3
Tallahassee, FL – The man who heads the White House Office of Drug Control Policy was in Tallahassee Thursday. Tom Flanigan reports Gil Kerlikowske was most concerned about the state's exploding pill mill business.
Kerlikowske spent the morning meeting with Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. She's mounted an aggressive campaign against South Florida's store-front pain clinics, as well as the doctors who supply pain pill prescriptions to addicts and drug sellers. Kerlikowske thinks that's the right approach.
"It was very productive.They're taking on the pill mill issue in a very strong way. We hopewe can make some progress with the prescription drug monitoring plans and I am encouraged."
The prescription drug monitoring Kerlikowske refers to is the one now opposed by Governor Rick Scott who says it's an attack on the privacy rights of law-abiding pain pill patients. But Dave Aronberg, who heads the pill mill fight in the attorney general's office, is optimistic the governor can be persuaded to change his mind
"It doesn't mean we cant work with each other and I think that ultimately we will save the PMDP because it is crucial in the fight against pill mills and doctor-shopping."
Meanwhile, Kerlikowske says most of the nation's illicit pain pills now originate in Florida. At the same time, deaths from prescription drug overdose now kills more Americans than anything else except car wrecks.