So perhaps it is no surprise that the commission is about to let the state knows where it stands on a proposal from Gov. Rick Scott to repeal a new law that would set up a statewide prescription drug monitoring program.
"The Board of County Commissioners supports the continued implementation of the prescription drug monitoring program and the associated database," reads a proposed resolution that commissioners will consider on Tuesday.
The proposed resolution lists several "whereases" to help make the county's case, including:
- 60 people in Manatee, Sarasota and DeSoto counties died from Oxycodone overdoses in the first six months of 2010, and 55 died from Xanax overdoses during the same period.
- The estimated cost of a drug monitoring program is $500,000, or less than one-thousandth of 1 percent of the overall state budget.
- A monitoring program would provide a tool for doctors and pharmacists to determine if a patient is "doctor shopping" or has purchased an excessive amount of drugs.
- Florida is the largest population state without some type of prescription drug monitoring program.
- "Nationally, Florida is perceived in a negative light for its proliferation of pill mills and out-of-state users flocking to Florida for drugs."
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