There’s no one solution to drug abuse and addiction. Solving this problem in our society will take many different actions, as wrote in a post last week. This week I came across some information on how the right legislation can help in the effort to reduce the number of people who lose their lives to overdoses of drugs.
It was in a story about a law change in Florida. Florida was notorious for having “pill mills” – businesses that had a doctor on the premises who would write you a prescription for painkillers or other drugs without asking questions. Until this law was changed, the situation in Florida was pretty far out of control. There were stories about parking lots full out-of-state plates and crowds of people standing on the sidewalks outside these businesses, waiting for their prescriptions.
These pill mills made it incredibly easy to get these addictive and deadly drugs. Many of them gave you the prescription form in the back and then sold you the drugs in the front. You didn’t even have to go to a legitimate pharmacy, which might have raised suspicions.
Florida was known throughout the East as the place to go to get easy pills. There were practically commuter routes from Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio as people came down to buy pills then went home to sell them for hugely inflated prices.
Well, Florida got a law passed a couple of years ago to outlaw some of the key practices that made it possible for these pill mills to exist. As soon as the laws went into effect, the sales of OxyContin plummeted in the state. I’m sure that many of these businesses packed up and left the state. I’ve heard about increases in pill mills in Houston and Ohio.
Florida Opiate Overdoses Decline
So the story I just found reports that opiate overdoses deaths have started coming down in Florida. The change is not huge, just 17% from its peak. But every percent means that there are some lives saved.
I take note of this change because it does point out that the right legislation can improve things. Along with drug prevention and rehabilitation of those who are addicted, plus continuing to pull drugs off the market through law enforcement, we can see a big difference over time.
The last two changes I mentioned in last week’s post can be started by any individual who reads this. And those are disagreeing with a culture of drug use and alcohol overuse that might be portrayed as “fun” in movies and other media or by individuals; and reducing our own ideas of the stigma attached to addiction. We must make it safe for our friends, neighbors and loved ones to reach out for help.