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Feds Getting in on Pain-Pill Crackdown

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
Charlotte Observer
/
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

To fight Florida’s “pill mills,” U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan is pushing for a change in federal law that would make it harder to get refills on hydrocodone, one of the most addictive prescription drugs, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports. While that kind of abuse is a huge problem in Florida, several other lawmakers are expected to join Buchanan’s cause and support tougher rules for pain pills.

Meanwhile, the feds are trying to crack down in another way: The Drug Enforcement Administration is trying to put a stop to a busy Walgreens distribution center they say has filled too many suspicious orders for powerful painkillers, McClatchy Newspapers reports. 

Originally founded in December 2006 as an independent grassroots publication dedicated to coverage of health issues in Florida, Health News Florida was acquired by WUSF Public Media in September 2012.