Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Drew WilsonFebruary 21, 2017

A pair of Democratic lawmakers announced Tuesday that they had filed bills to combat opioid abuse in Florida. HB 557 and SB 840 would cut the reporting window for when controlled substance distributions are made to one day, and would require pharmacies or other drug dispensaries to submit the information online. Current state law gives […]

Phil AmmannMarch 23, 2016

Prescription drug abuse has affected the lives of teens and young adults in drastic ways. Kids are abusing and even becoming addicted to pills often found in the medicine cabinets at their own homes. Across the country, we are at risk of losing thousands of kids and young adults to drug overdoses from medically prescribed […]

Guest AuthorSeptember 25, 2015

Prescription drug misuse has been identified as Florida’s “fastest-growing and deadliest public safety issue,” according to Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Prescription Drug Diversion and Abuse Roadmap. Prescription painkiller overdoses have more than tripled in the past two decades, killing more than 15,500 people in the United States in 2009 according to the CDC. On Saturday, […]

Guest AuthorApril 24, 2015

Legislation being debated in Tallahassee — SB 728 — will raise costs for the state’s employers, consumers and public programs, while offering no clinical benefit to patients. In an effort to lower prescription drug abuse, the bill forces health plans to cover the most expensive brand name opioids even when more affordable generics are available. […]

Guest AuthorApril 2, 2015

The prescription drug program Florida legislators created in 2009 to monitor controlled substances has helped reduce the number of Floridians who suffer from prescription drug addiction. Medications provide great benefit to patients when used correctly and under the guidance of their treating physician. Some opiod drugs are now being crushed into powder or injected and […]

Tag: prescription drug abuse

Democratic lawmakers file bills to strengthen prescription drug reporting requirements

Marcia Lee Taylor: Legislature passes bill to combat drug overdoses

Mary Elizabeth Elliott: Pilot project to make medication disposal safer, more effective

Mark Merritt: Legislation would raise costs, fail to reduce prescription drug abuse

Sandi Frear: Why abuse-deterring opioids should be legislative priority