By Ileana Morales, Times Staff Writer
Friday, October 29, 2010
TAMPA — Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee is seeking the help of licensed pharmacies in dealing what he called an "epidemic" of prescription drug abuse.
Gee is sending letters this week to Hillsborough pharmacies. He asks that pharmacies closely inspect prescriptions written by out-of-state physicians or those for non-Floridians. If possible, Gee asks that pharmacies not fill those prescriptions.
Florida is notorious for how easy it is to get large amounts of oxycodone and other pain medications, Gee said. His letter follows recent state and local law enforcement crackdowns on trafficking of pain pills.
Gee acknowledges in the letter that the drugs benefit those dealing with intense pain.
"However, when used inappropriately, these drugs lead to horrible addiction; crimes committed to feed addiction; families destroyed; and ultimately death," Gee writes.
His letter comes a day after the Pinellas County chapter of NOPE, Narcotics Overdose Prevention and Education, Task Force held a vigil for victims of prescription drug overdoses.
State records show those overdoses killed 681 people last year in Tampa Bay. And in Florida it takes 18 months to bring disciplinary action against a bad doctor. The Florida Legislature took seven years to approve system to monitor prescription drugs.