National Government Buchanan's Pill Mill Crackdown Act Advances in U.S. Senate

Ruth Lyerly and Cindy Harney joined Rep. Vern Buchanan in meetings with the DEA and FDA in May.

WASHINGTON – During the 23rd annual National Red Ribbon Week to promote drug abuse prevention, lawmakers from the United States Senate and House of Representatives came together in support of legislation that will combat the nation's fastest growing drug epidemic - prescription drug abuse. The Pill Mill Crackdown Act of 2011 won a huge victory with bipartisan support in the U.S. Senate on Thursday. The new bill would reclassify some of the most deadly and addictive drugs and increase sentencing for drug trafficking.

The amendment to the Food And Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act, offered by Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, is identical to the bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan in March of 2011, which was supported by 59 members of Congress and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. After collaborating with Buchanan, Manchin introduced his companion legislation in the Senate in October of last year. 

"Too many of our loved ones are dying every day of prescription drug overdoses, and are abusing these deadly painkillers for non-medical purposes,“ said Buchanan, "too many of our loved ones are dying every day of prescription drug overdoses, and are abusing these deadly painkillers for non-medical purposes."

A spokesman for Buchanan said he took an active step to combat the unlawful distribution of the drug after members of the community came forward and deemed the area, ”the pill mill capital of the world.“ Despite the efforts of local municipalities that put moratoriums on the drug distribution centers, Buchanan knew he needed to go above and beyond and address the epidemic at a national level.

Florida is the nation’s top supplier of prescription drugs, and prescription drug use has taken its toll on local residents. Two neighborhood mothers, who each lost a son to prescription drug abuse, advocated for stricter laws governing highly-addictive medications.

Ruth Lyerly, of Bradenton, and Cindy Harney, of Sarasota, joined U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, in meetings at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on May 21, 2012. They also made their way to Washington as private citizens and founders of the nonprofit organization, Families Against Addictive Drug Abuse.

”For over a decade, abuse and death from prescription drugs has escalated to what now is being called an Ôepidemic’ by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention,“ said Lyerly and Harney. ”We contacted Congressman Buchanan a year ago and thanks to his ongoing efforts to have the FDA reschedule these highly addictive drugs, families might be spared the sorrow and pain of losing a child or loved one.“ 

Harney's son, Garrett Harney, 20, died in 2006 after overdosing on pain killers Oxycodone and Xanax while Lyerly's son, Manatee High School senior Todd Puerifoy, 18, committed suicide in 2005 as an alternative to surrendering to his addiction.

Harvey said she had feelings of purpose and a sense of accomplishment in seeing her "grass roots" effort here in Sarasota-Manatee Counties finally paying off in Washington.

”We cannot thank Congressman Buchanan enough for his support of our efforts and his leadership with regard to this ground-breaking legislation that will surely save thousands of lives,“ she said.  
 
Currently a Schedule III substance, highly–addictive hydrocodone combination drugs (i.e. Vicodin and Lortab) are widely available and accessible with a doctor’s prescription. Under the Buchanan bill and Manchin amendment, hydrocodone substances are reclassified as a Schedule II drug, resulting in stricter controls. Reclassifying these drugs would have several benefits, including preventing patients from re-filling a hydrocodone prescription without a visit from the doctor. Pharmacists would require patients to present an original prescription for refills. 

The prison sentences of "pill mill" operators will be doubled, and fines for illegal distribution will be tripled under the new law. In addition, any assets seized from violators would be used to fund drug treatment programs and state drug-monitoring databases that collect information on prescription drugs prescribed and dispensed.

Hydrocodone abuse has been growing at an alarming rate nationwide. Over 131 million prescriptions of Vicodin were filled in 2010 alone – enough to give 24 Vicodin pills to every man, woman, and child in the U.S. Highly addictive medications account for the deaths of 40 people per day in the U.S., outweighing the number of traffic fatalities in this country.