It seems like every time I have read about Florida in the news lately, they are talking about these "pill mills". What are they? Do they exist anywhere else? opiate-addiction Opiate AddictionIllegitimate pain clinics, pill mills, are often abused to fuel an addiction to prescription drugs, like Oxycontin and Opana. opiates OpiatesOpiates, like Oxycontin, are the most common drugs illegitimately prescribed by pill mills. prescription-drugs Prescription DrugsPill mills give the people access to prescription drugs without probable reason. opiate-abuse Opiate AbusePill mills allow people to access large quantities of prescription drugs, like Oxycontin and hydrocodone, which leads to high rates of drug abuse. |
"Pill mill" is a slang name for corrupt pain clinics that hand out pain pill prescriptions like candy on Halloween. Anyone can walk in the door, say their back hurts, and walk away with a bottle full of OxyContin. The reason you see Florida involved so often is mostly due to the state's lax prescription drug monitoring, which fails to record who has prescribed how much of what to whom. This allows doctors (often illegitimate doctors) to prescribe at will. |
"'Pill mill' is a term used primarily by local and state investigators to describe a doctor, clinic or pharmacy that is prescribing or dispensing powerful narcotics inappropriately or for non-medical reasons." -CBS News |
Illegitimate pain clinics (pain management centers, pain doctors, etc.) are popping up in strip malls and make-shift offices, offering hundreds of prescriptions a day to whoever desires "pain relief". The lack of prescription drug monitoring in states like Florida and Texas make it easy for people to abuse pharmacies and doctors. People can literally "shop" for pain pills and never have to leave the state.