I learned yesterday that one can be arrested for attempting to even fill a pain medication prescription in some Fl counties!

[sandee1818]

I was speaking to a few people at my Doctor's appointment yesterday and they were from Bay county and surrounding counties and what they told me was shocking!
They had to drive all the way to Tampa to even have their pain medications filled.
In their counties the Sheriff has made it illegal ( yes that is correct, illegal) to have certain pain medications filled in his county!
If you are caught even attempting to fill them you will be arrested. Also I was told that if you are stopped by law enforcement and there are two or more people in the car that have prescription medications of any kind you will be arrested for trafficking!
I have not done any research as to the validity of these claims yet but there were several different people with the same story from Bay county and surrounding counties.
This is so shocking that a PM patient can not have their prescription filled in their home town for fear of being arrested. I was told there are no pharmacies that will fill certain pain medications. There was one but the pharmacist was arrested.
I can not understand how this is legal but apparently it is.
What will these people do in these counties? I met some as I said that had traveled to Tampa and I was so amazed that they just took it all in stride. I would be very angry if the Sheriff of my town made it illegal to fill my medically necessary prescription's.
We have so many obstacle's we deal with being CP Pt's but this is really ridiculous.

[mellie4]

I just wanted you to know you are commenting on a very old post.  If you want to start a thread about this, you would do better to post a new question yourself.

[jeffhop]

I am from Panama City and that is total bull about being arrested for getting certain prescriptions filled. It is difficult to find a pharmacy that has oxycodone(roxicodone etc) because the legislature has a bill pending about getting oxycodone 15's and 30's filled in all of Florida but not ill-legal.

[houseofgirls]

This just ticks me off.  I know how I feel every single day.  And doctors are so afraid to prescribe narcotics for any length of time around here.  Here in Washington, I get passed from one doctor to another because no one wants to take care of me and my pain.  My doctors will give me a small prescription for something like vicodin..enough for 3-5 days then pass me on to the next specialist so that they don't have to deal with me.  The don't even want to take the time to get to the root of my problem so that I don't HAVE to take any pain meds!  It really is making it hard for people like myself, and everyone else here to get the help we need.  Everyone acknowledges that I have true pain, but they just don't want to have to deal with it because of all the laws and such.

[Jaybay]

These anecdotal stories don't frighten me, but the actual laws do.  Every state has it's own way of regulating narcotics on top of the what the Feds do, none of which bodes well for legitimate pain patients and their doctors.  I don't care what kind of crackdown laws our legislators pass - there will always be a certain percentage of the population who will abuse medication.  The only people government can control are legitimate patients and their legitimate doctors - in other words, law-abiding citizens.

It's the same problem with so-called gun control.  Lawmakers love to outlaw firearms because it sounds like such a great idea on the surface.  It's a specious argument because the criminals can always obtain guns no matter how many gun-banning laws are passed.  So now our Federal and State governments use the same specious arguments to demonize and outlaw certain medications, but the abusers can always get them.

In the end, I think it's up to individuals to educate our legislators about the cost of such legislation to legitimate patients.  Sitting on our hands and crying about the situation does no good, so even if we don't get a response, we need to write those letters!  Government counts on an ignorant and apathetic populace to do these things, but we don't have to sit idly by and react when it's all over.  

OK, end of philosophizing rant for this evening.  :-)

[RunningMom]

I just recently saw what goes on in Flordia and their pill mills.  I do see why they are doing this, but it is unfair to those with chronic pain.  I was just floored to see what goes on in Flordia and how these people are able to obtain their medications.  I know they just passed a law to help monitor better who and what people are being prescribed.  It's my impression that this law was passed mainly for those who are in Flordia.  I just wish there was a better way to stop those who are abusing this whole system.

[JadedSweetheart]

Thanks, Jaybay!  I had heard about the 72 hour law and the owner/operator law, but I didn't know about the "examination every visit" law.  I suppose it makes sense, but I'm wondering what this examination will entail.  As it is they take blood pressure and temperature, weight, etc.  Maybe that is the examination?
I draw the line at them putting me in stirrups to examine my neck!  LOL

[TrayCee]

I live in TN and personally know several ppl who drive to Florida every month for pain meds, some really need them but most sell them.
I would assume the DEA will become more & more strick on the PM DR.'s in FLA....
Good Luck to all who live there and ligit need pain meds (like myself)
Thanks for the info Sandee, please keep us updated!

[Sarajmt]

This is crazy!  I realize that there are those out there who will do anything to get drugs and unscrupulous doctors who will sell prescriptions.  They must learn to temper their drug enforcement efforts so as not to harm legitimate pain patients.  Banning all pain drugs isn't the answer, as we all know.  They need to use all technology available to weed out the abusers.  We have to get our medicines.  We already jump through hoops even to get an increase in dosage.  Don't make this any more difficult.

[Tuckamore]

Thanks Jaybay for posting additional information. I am very aware of the information you are sharing. It is something that I have been following closely with my upcoming relocation to that state. Neither Sandee or I want to frighten anyone and the more information we have the better for everyone.

You can certainly understand the concerns and frustrations that the officials in Florida must feel. In my opinion they attempted to make its a pain management friendly state, possibly due to all ailing senior citizens that flock to their state in the winter. It's almost like they are being punished for being accommodating. As usual it is the few that ruin it for the many. Just as our some of our crazy laws are made for the few abusers and not the many.

Thanks,
~Tuck

[Jaybay]

All I could find was a few articles that reference new Florida state laws that begin enforcement this coming December.  There are several new regs that must be followed by pain clinics.  They have to be locally licensed; owned/operated by a board certified MD or DO; a physical exam must be carried out on every patient during every office visit; they cannot dispense more than 72 hours worth of medication to any patient from the clinic's location; and pharmacies cannot fill certain prescriptions (benzos, narcotics, etc.) if the patient is not a Florida resident.  

Apparently the FL pill mills and associated pharmacies are operating in a manner than you see in Mexican border towns.  One article referenced van loads of out of state "patients" who descend on these clinics.   The patients are primarily youngsters covered in tatoos and piercings (backed up by one photo I found with this story) and very few elderly and obviously disabled patients.  

Florida has not been using the government prescription tracking software which is why it's a very popular state for illicit pill mill operations.  That software is now a requirement for pharmacies but the doctors are not required to consult it for their patients.  It is supposed to help identify people who obtain prescriptions from multiple doctors, but the data is not yet immediately available. There is a 15 day lag time before a doctor or pharmacist can see a transaction, but of course, that glitch is being worked on now.

[JadedSweetheart]

As a Florida member, myself, I have to say we are used to it.  It's really a shame that we have to go through these problems because of this.  Just south of my county, in Palm Beach County is one of the "worst" for these pill mills, etc.  It's considered South Florida and is right above Broward.  One hears about these things happening a lot.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention, Sandee.  
When I was doing a search for my old doctor to see if anything had happened to him, I found some sort of patient information and advocacy group.  I am really thinking about getting involved in one because we need to let our State leaders know that there are legitimate patients dealing with real pain who need medication and are just as upset about the drug seekers and dealers who are making things hard for us.  I will let you know if I find a good one for Florida as well because we need to band together.
I really think our State would benefit from a coalition of local leaders, good doctors, and CP patients who could work together to help stop the abuses without crushing our rights as patients.  I know for me it's hard to even get out to doctor's offices some days, and I am sure it's the same way for a lot of legitimate CP patients which is probably why our voices are being drowned out by these abuses.

[sandee1818]

I had no intention of scaring any of our members . This was not my intention, I always try do bring current issues of PM to the community and this is why I posted this.
As I said I have no valid articles to prove what I was told, I only stated what I was told by three different patients I spoke to yesterday.
I have no way of knowing if they were lying to me or why they would but this is merely hear say and I am searching for an answer of the facts.
I called the editor of the local paper there  and also the sheriff's dept to inquire and am expecting calls back.
I will update soon as I hear anything.

[Tuckamore]

Thanks Sandee. As you know I am very interested in the happenings in you state as it may soon be my state also.

I've been searching for information regarding perscription fill denial in Bay County. I haven't been able to find any information on a law that was passed but I did find this comment on a newspaper article from your state entitled, "Bay County Sheriff's Office Investigates South Florida's "Pill Mills."  This was dated March 23, 2010.

BEGIN QUOTE: "The Bay County Sheriff's Office is contacting local pharmacies and asking them to closely scrutinize prescriptions out of South Florida and deny them if they seem suspicious." END

I also found other articles regarding the fight of law enforcement against the "Pill Mills" that they clam are mostly in South Florida. The following is from a Panama City Publication. I've left out the name of the pharmacy for obvious reasons.

BEGIN QUOTE: "The Bay County Sheriff’s Office investigation that led to an injunction against the owner of the XXXX Pharmacy was a necessary step for a county with a record number of drug overdoses this year related to pills improperly prescribed in South Florida." END

So it appears that there is not yet an actual "law" against filling these prescriptions. It appears to be a close monitoring by the law enforcement that has made these pharmacists/pharmacies over cautious. If you are able to locate facts regarding a law it would be very interesting. What next? Will law enforcement begin policing how many anxiety medications are filled at ZZZ Pharmacy?

It's understandable the concern there is for illegally obtained prescriptions and the deaths that coincide with them. Parents and citizens are outraged. However the extreme policing of our pharmacies rings of more government control and intervention. This will only bring more scrutiny upon cp patients. The mere fact that someone with extreme cp would have to drive long distances to fill there legally obtained and needed prescriptions is a testament, in my opinion to policing gone too far.

The ppl in vehicles that are being stopped and sometimes justly arrested are those that are leaving known or suspected pill mills, according to my research. There are a few articles pertaining to what you were told and they are calling it trafficking. I can find no information where ppl with ligament prescriptions for ligament pain are being arrested. Can you help with this?

If you can verify the hearsay it would be greatly appreciated. I do not want our Florida members to be frightened without cause and I am sure you don't either.  Please continue to update us.

~Tuck

[sandee1818]

I am still searching and have put a call into Mike Cazalas the editor.
This is what I found so far...
The Bay County Sheriff’s Office investigation that led to an injunction against the owner of the Medicine Shoppe pharmacy is a frightening precedent of law enforcement stretching the limits of the law to achieve moral and personal objectives.

http://www.newsherald.com/articles/reality-85114-bay-sheriff.html

[sandee1818]

I know I was like you thinking how can this be legal. I am looking online now to try and back it up but this came from several different people in Bay county.
The main drug that they were discussing is roxicodone. I do know that some counties will only fill that prescription if they know you and you live in that county. This may be due to the pill mills and the counties trying to keep it under control.
I will post anything I can find such as proof though. I do hope it is NOT true!

[TrayCee]

this doesnt sound right....
how can it be illeagal to fill a prescription written & prescribed by a licnesed physican?
does this sound right to you?