Undoubtedly, the recent law enforcement officials and government crackdowns on prescription pill distribution in Florida have drastically helped slow up the rates of overdose-related deaths statewide. Deaths declined by 23% from 2010 to 2012, and the quantity of those falling victim to prescription overdose continues to drop annually. Additionally, the amount of those being admitted to addiction rehab centers across Florida – the rehab capital of the us – for that primary purpose of narcotic opioid addiction are diminishing rapidly. Clearly, Florida is greatly benefitting from newly instilled laws and regulations that severely hinder the circulation of prescription painkillers – right?
In reality, it would appear that the present crackdowns go excessively far. Pharmacists statewide appear to many chronic pain sufferers being abusing the ability utilized them in deciding regardless of whether a prescription applies and will get offers for. A conflict has erupted between doctors and pharmacists across Florida, so when opioids of any type be a little more difficult for patients to obtain, the tensions carry on and rise. Determined by suspicion alone, pharmacists are refusing legitimate patients their prescribed and needed medication, forcing local citizens in desperate and honest necessity of their medications to travel from pharmacy to pharmacy – subsequently, sometimes being accused of ‘doctor shopping’.
Odds are, most of the capacity distribute painkillers originates from fear. The DEA fined Walgreens $80 million in 2013 for allowing highly addictive narcotic painkillers for example oxycodone to arrive at the black market. Cardinal Health, the pharmaceutical company that supplied CVS, have also been fined when using $34 million for neglecting to monitor their own sales for dubious activity. To counteract future fines and negative media attention, pharmacies across Florida are restricting painkiller distribution to a almost ludicrous degree. However, doctors are still finding themselves struggling for patient use of more narcotics – not less.
Interestingly enough, the crackdown on painkiller dispersal has not yet only negatively impacted those experiencing serious chronic pain and also other health conditions, but in addition has had a negative impact on those already afflicted with narcotic opioid addiction. While medications centers are prevalent throughout Florida, many addicts remain not aware of the extensive options of addiction treatment available. People that were previously battling prescription painkiller addiction will often times simply resort to the cheaper and more easily available alternative – heroin. Admissions to addiction rehab centers for your primary reason of heroin dependency have begun to rapidly increase across Florida all together. While chance of overdose in direct correlation to pharmaceuticals is undeniably high, the recently circulated, highly potent strains of heroin throughout the region are already to blame for much more overdose-related deaths over the course of earlier times year.
The key issue, needless to say, is in the reality that many medical patients in dire need for prescription painkillers do not have use of them. Doctors are working together to maintain a happy medium between restrictive regulation and distribution, and still have definitely done a decent job of raising awareness – although clearly only the beginning.
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