h/t to change the be for bringing this to my attention.
In case you're stumbling into this diary without having seen my previous entries this week, here's a quick recap. I've been calling attention to the fact the newly-elected healthcare-fraudster Republican Governor Rick Scott is attempting to repeal and block funding for the state's Prescription Drug Monitoring Program...legislation passed after several years of effort and signed by previous Gov. Charlie Crist.
My interest is based in my family's roots in Appalachian Eastern Kentucky, one of our nation's most poverty-stricken regions, and a region where abuse of drugs such as OxyContin has had devastating effects.
Check my diary history and you'll see how everyone from Hal Rogers (R, KY-05) to Senators Schumer, Whitehouse, (Bill) Nelson, and Manchin, along with KY-Gov. Steve Beshear have been pressuring Gov. Scott to reverse his position. Obama's "drug czar" visited Kentucky this week, and weighed in on the matter by adding that Obama's budget includes increased funding for addiction treatment while voicing support to those who're objecting to Gov. Scott's planned repeal.
I started the series by asking "Gov. Scott: who are you protecting?"
Which leads us to yesterday's major development...
Feds raid Fla. pill mills; arrest docs, owners
Curt Anderson, AP's Legal Affairs writer reports:
WESTON, Fla. – U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents and local police swept across South Florida on Wednesday making arrests as part of a lengthy undercover operation into illegal pill mills that dispense huge amounts of powerful prescription drugs across the nation.
Federal law enforcement officials said the yearlong probe resulted in initial arrests of 20 people, including at least five doctors, in an operation in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties that involved about 400 law enforcement officers. Six people were charged in a federal indictment and others face state charges, including the physician son of Broward County's medical examiner.
snip
Affidavits filed by undercover agents show how easy it is to get prescriptions for massive amounts of pills despite complaining only of a stiff neck. In one buy, an agent is warned to stay away from chain drugstores because suspicious prescriptions are easier to track.
"I can't say this enough," a clinic employee is quoting as saying in a recorded visit. "They are not your friend, they are your enemy."
Later, according to the affidavit, the employee adds: "All right. Any questions? All right. Let's get this party started!"
Anderson reports some very disturbing statistics, and I do encourage you to read the entire article. Sounds like the investigation is on-going and more arrests are pending. I have my own criticisms of the larger "War on Drugs" but it's my considered opinion that the feds are on the right track with this effort.
So I ask again, Gov Scott: who are you protecting?
Won't you call him today and ask him the same?
Rick Scott, Executive Office, 850 / 488-4441