Without question, the recent law enforcement and government crackdowns on prescription pill distribution and the number of those falling victim to prescription overdose continue to drop annually. Additionally, the number of those being admitted to addiction rehab centers- the capital of the nation – for the primary purpose of narcotic opioid addiction is diminishing rapidly greatly benefitting from newly instilled laws and regulations that severely hinder the circulation of prescription painkillers – right?
In fact, it seems that the recent crackdowns have gone way too far. Pharmacists statewide appear to many chronic pain sufferers to be abusing the power allotted to them in deciding whether or not a prescription is valid and should be provided. A conflict has erupted between doctors and pharmacists, and as opioids of any kind become more difficult for patients to obtain, tensions continue to rise. Based on suspicion alone, pharmacists are refusing legitimate patients their prescribed and needed medication, forcing local citizens in desperate and honest need of their medications to travel from pharmacy to pharmacy – in turn, often times being accused of ‘doctor shopping’.
Chances are, much of the resistance to distribute painkillers comes from fear. The DEA fined Walgreens 80 million for allowing highly addictive narcotic painkillers such as oxycodone to reach the black market. Cardinal Health, the pharmaceutical company that supplied CVS, was also fined a total of 34 million for neglecting to monitor their own sales for dubious activity. In order to avoid future fines and negative media attention, pharmacies across Florida are restricting painkiller distribution to an almost ludicrous degree. However, doctors are currently finding themselves struggling for patient access to more narcotics – not less.
Interestingly enough, the crackdown on painkiller dispersal has not only negatively impacted those suffering from serious chronic pain and other medical conditions, but has also had an adverse effect on those already afflicted with narcotic opioid addiction. While Opioid Withdrawal Symptoms treatment centers are prevalent throughout Florida, many addicts remain unaware of the extensive options of addiction treatment available to them. Those who were previously battling prescription painkiller addiction will often times simply resort to the cheaper and far more readily available alternative – heroin. Admissions to addiction rehab centers for the primary reason of heroin dependency have begun to rapidly increase across Florida as a whole. While risk of overdose in direct correlation to pharmaceuticals is undeniably high, the recently circulated, highly potent strains of heroin throughout the region have been responsible for far more overdose-related deaths over the course of the past year.
The main issue, of course, lies in the fact that many medical patients in dire need of prescription painkillers do not have access to them. Doctors are working together to maintain a happy medium between restrictive regulation and distribution, and have definitely done a decent job of raising awareness – although this is clearly only the beginning.
