Abusive prescribing of controlled substances: A pharmacy view. New England Journal of Medicine , 11 , — Johnson, H. Decline in drug overdose deaths after state policy changes—Florida, — Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 63 26 , — The thriving "pill mills" helped seed an overdose epidemic that ended up devastating many of the communities where the pills were sent.
This week's release of federal data showing the flow of prescription opioids throughout the U. Lindsay Acree, an assistant professor at the University of Charleston in West Virginia, said the pipeline to Florida provided easy access to large quantities of the drugs for people who already were getting hooked on them. By the clinics' peak in , 90 of the nation's top opioid prescribers were Florida doctors, according to federal officials, and 85 percent of the nation's oxycodone was prescribed in the state.
That year alone, about million pills were sold in Florida. The number of people who died in Florida with oxycodone or another prescription opioid in their system hit 4, in , a four-fold increase from , with 2, of the deaths deemed overdoses, according to a state medical examiners' report. Even today, Florida struggles with opioid addiction.
The state was second only to Ohio in the number of opioid-related overdose deaths in , the most recent year for which official figures are available. Florida's pill mills "opened fast and furious because there was very little regulation Ohio drug dealer Gerald Dixon said during a prison interview with The Associated Press that he would visit Florida clinics, tell the doctors that years of weightlifting and boxing had left him in pain, and then they would prescribe him pills, usually without examination.
He would take the pills home to sell. A perfect storm helped Florida pill mills take off in the early s, said McElhaney, who is now president of the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators.
Other states were putting in computerized systems tracking the sale of legal narcotics, but Florida did not. Learn what a drug overdose is, how to recognize risk factors and symptoms, how it is treated, and how you can help prevent it.
A new survey by Orlando Health finds that most people would rather use alternatives to opioid pain medications if better options were available. Learn how Imodium can help ease diarrhea from withdrawal, as well as facts about treating other symptoms. The Hulu series "Dopesick" uses fact and fiction to detail the rise of OxyContin and how the Purdue Pharma drug ignited the opioid epidemic.
Experts say healthcare professionals need to be aware of a person's risk of opioid addiction before surgery is performed. Researchers say they hope their study will help persuade more medical professionals to use acupuncture as a treatment for pain after surgery. Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Written by Brian Krans — Updated on October 16, Share on Pinterest.
More Prescriptions Than People. A Rare Sense of Closure. Drug Overdose. Read this next. Medically reviewed by Alan Carter, Pharm. Veterans Day is this week, and to be frank, no measure of topes, lip-service, or performative gratitude will ever be enough to convey our appreciation for our retired military.
While the nation will rightl Valium diazepam is a highly addictive benzodiazepine benzo that can, and often does, lea What Do I Do? Turning the Tides of the Crisis Because of the political role that pharmaceutical companies have played in state politics, Florida lawmakers hesitated and delayed taking action against pill mills and unscrupulous prescribers. Putting out the Fire Although manufacturers might have struck the match that lit the blaze, pill mills did nothing but pour gas on the opioid crisis.
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