Gov. Rick Scott
wants to put a three-day limit on prescriptions for painkillers.
Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday called for $50 million and new legislation to fight the opioid abuse epidemic that has killed hundreds across Florida in recent years.
The proposal, announced at an appearance in Bradenton then touted at the Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s Office headquarters Tuesday afternoon, will be one of the governor’s top priorities in the upcoming legislative session, which begins Jan. 9.
“Opioid abuse unfortunately has taken the lives of too many Floridians and we all know too many it’s happened to,” Scott said In West Palm Beach. “We’re fully committed to finding ways to fight it.”
His proposed legislation would put a three-day limit on initial prescriptions for opioids, though some allowance would be made for a sevenday supply for acute pain. It also would require those who write opioid prescriptions to use the Florida Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, a database created in 2009 as part of the fight against pill mills. The money Scott requested would go toward substance abuse treatment, recovery services and funding the Florida Violent Crime and Drug Control Council, which in turn provides additional funding to local and state law enforcement agencies that are working cases involving major drug crimes.
Scott declared opioid abuse a public health emergency in May, freeing up $27 million in federal funding to help combat the epidemic. However, he’s slashed funding for substance abuse programs, including this year’s $11 million cut in mental health and substance abuse services.
When he first came into office, Scott proposed major cuts to Florida’s fight against drugs, including shuttering the state’s drug czar post and attempting to end the Florida Prescription Drug Monitoring Program — the very same database that he now wants to make mandatory.
“What we’ve done since then is I’ve signed a lot of bills, we passed legislation that created more security for people,” Scott said. “And so I think it’s the right thing to be doing now.”
But the Florida Democratic Party criticized the governor for his past positions.
“Governor Scott is putting on a show to make up for years of negligence and half-measures on Florida’s opioid crisis,’’ said FDP spokeswoman Johanna Cervone.
“On Scott’s watch, Florida has fallen to the bottom of the country in mental health and substance abuse funding, and rather than fix the problem, he has backed federal policies that would be detrimental to those struggling with addiction,” she added.
The Republican leaders of both chambers of the Legislature said they would support ramping up Florida’s fight against opioid addiction.