Government officials in Florida team up to combat fraudulent medical facilities

Florida continues to struggle with what law enforcement officials call "pill mills." However, state legislators are banding together to fight against prescription drug abuse, Sunshine State News reports.

State Attorney General (AG) Pam Bondi recently appointed former Florida senator Dave Aronberg to lead a coalition that aims to identify and shut down pill mills. A recent survey from the Office of Drug Control found that the number of prescription drug-related deaths has increased from 1,234 in 2003 to 2,488 in 2009.

"Attorney General Bondi and I both believe that public safety is not a partisan issue. Florida has become the drug supplier for the rest of the country, and with seven Floridians a day dying from prescription drug abuse, urgent action is needed," Aronberg, told the news source.

Officials from the AG's office noted that pill mills are doctor's offices or healthcare facilities that routinely prescribe and dispense controlled substance outside the standards of normal medical practices.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, nearly 10 percent of students in grade 12 reported abusing the prescription painkiller Vicodin in the year leading up to the study.