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Hernando Today

Prescription Pill Deaths Continue

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By KYLE MARTIN

Hernando Today

Published: June 21, 2008

Three times more Floridians died from prescription pill abuse last year than from a fatal overdose of an illegal drug.

That's among the findings of the 2007 Florida Department of Law Enforcement report on the drugs found in the Sunshine State's deceased.

The results came as no surprise to Ann Topping, who oversees the women's shelter offered by faith-based Jericho Road Ministries in Brooksville.

As a longtime counselor, "many in our field knew about (prescription pill abuse) way before the public became aware," she said.

The results are drawn from data collected by medical examiners across Florida over a 12-month period. The base for the figures begins with the state's 168,900 deaths last year, of which 8,620 were drug-related — either as a cause or merely present.

Excluding alcohol, prescription drugs account for 69 percent of all drug occurrences in the report. A majority of the deaths caused by the pills were accidents.

Typically, it's not just one drug in the system but a lethal "cocktail" that causes the death, according to Dr. Stephen Nelson, chairman of the Florida Medical Examiners Commission.

The cumulative effect of several painkillers or stimulants can cause an aberrant heart rhythm or suppress the respiratory system, Nelson said.

In terms of quantity, cocaine, including its derivative crack, is the leading killer on the FDLE's list with 843 deaths. Heroine didn't cause as many deaths, but it is considered the most lethal because it caused death in 84.5 percent of the people that had the drug in their system.

The Governor's Office of Drug Control advocates a prescription monitoring program to curb the abuse of prescription drugs. A "PMP" would outfit pharmacies and doctors across the state with the equipment to monitor sales and suspicious activity.

For instance, information about a person trying to pass a suspicious prescription would be passed onto to other area pharmacies. Likewise, if a suspect tries "doctor shopping" to get pain meds, a red flag would be placed on their chart.

"People exploit the system," said Andrew Benard, chief of staff.

Roughly 35 other states have installed PMPs, but the bill needed to set one up in Florida has faltered in the Legislature for the past seven years.

People oppose it because they fear the government will get a glimpse of their medical records or that the system would be hacked.

But "that fear is overstated," Benard said.

Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at 352-544-5271 or kmartin@hernandotoday.com.

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