JEB BUSH INVADES DOCTOR/PATIENT PRIVACY PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE DrugSense FOCUS Alert #281 Tue, 4 Nov 2003 Less than ninety days after his own daughter was released from a state-sponsored drug treatment program, Florida Governor Jeb Bush is making dire pronouncements about using heavy handed law enforcement against others in Florida who commit the same crime of prescription drug fraud. In a commentary written for the Orlando Sentinel, Bush touts a 'prescription validation system' wherein all prescriptions will be tracked by law enforcement. The proposed system does not define precise numbers that result in criminal violation nor does it precisely define what levels of drug use constitute abuse. Only the law enforcement officers, the prosecutors and - by proxy - the governor will be free to determine who will be charged as criminals. The obvious result will be an increase in doctors' under medicating patients in need for fear of being criminally charged and losing their livelihoods. Additionally, these same under medicated patients will be motivated to buy from the black market, which will further strengthen the finances of actual criminal drug dealers. Finally, this proposal seeks to make drug war enemies out of doctors who help hundreds, and often thousands of patients over time, simply because a relatively tiny number of patients elect to abuse prescribed pharmaceuticals. In effect, Bush's idea causes dire pain and inconvenience for hundreds of thousands of Floridians all in the supposed name of saving a few hundred. Bush remains ignorant of the fact that those who want to abuse drugs will choose to do so with or without the governor's stamp of approval. Bush insists that the proposed system would respect doctor/patient privacy. But this ignores the many police and prosecutors who will have access to the information. Please write a letter today to The Orlando Sentinel to tell them what you think about Bush's suggestion. Ask why Floridians in need of medication should first get the approval of Gov. Bush and his law enforcement agencies. Thanks for your effort and support. It's not what others do it's what YOU do PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID (Letter, email messages, etc.) Please post a copy of your letter or report your action to the sent letter list () if you are subscribed, or by E-mailing a copy directly to if you are not subscribed. Your letter will then be forwarded to the list so others can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit. This is _Very_ Important as it is one very effective way of gauging our impact and effectiveness. Subscribing to the Sent LTE list () will help you to review other sent LTEs and perhaps come up with new ideas or approaches as well as keeping others aware of your important writing efforts. To subscribe to the Sent LTE mailing list see http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm and/or http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm#form CONTACT INFO Source: Orlando Sentinel Contact: TARGET ANALYSIS The Orlando Sentinel is the 38th largest circulation newspaper in the United States, with a daily circulation of just over a quarter million copies. The average published Letter to the Editor is 190 words in length. It is rare for the Sentinel to publish a letter over 250 words in length. The newspaper does print letters from out of state. ADDITIONAL TARGETS You may wish to send letters to other Florida newspapers on this topic, even if they have not provided coverage, as the issue of the state working hand in hand with the DEA to make life harder for pain doctors and their patients is important. Current DrugNews items from Florida newspapers may be reviewed at: http://www.mapinc.org/states/fl/ (Florida) By going to the MAP media links page, and using the location dropdown to select Florida, you can obtain the contact information for letters to the editor for many Florida newspapers. Those showing larger numbers of clippings are likely to be better targets for your efforts. http://www.mapinc.org/media.htm ORIGINAL ARTICLE US FL: OPED: Bush Vows Crackdown URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n1707.a08.html Newshawk: http://www.november.org Pubdate: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 Source: Orlando Sentinel (FL) Copyright: 2003 Orlando Sentinel Contact: Website: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/325 Author: Jeb Bush, Florida's governor Note: Jeb Bush, Florida's governor, wrote this commentary for the Orlando Sentinel. Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/jeb+bush Related: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1656/a02.html BUSH VOWS CRACKDOWN Governor: Prescription-Drug Use Too Deadly To Ignore In a recent series of articles, the Orlando Sentinel focused on the alarming spread of prescription-drug abuse in Florida and the tragic consequences for Floridians caught in its grip. Reporter Doris Bloodsworth has exposed a problem that is too widespread and deadly to ignore, and I hope her work will spur public support for a comprehensive, coordinated approach to solving it. Three years ago, Florida authorities noticed a disturbing trend of rising prescription-drug abuse. Law enforcement found widespread trafficking in illicit pharmaceuticals. Treatment centers reported a shift among addicts, away from meetings with drug dealers in dark corners in favor of doctor/pharmacy shopping. Internet drug sales expanded, adding a new avenue of access for addicts and dealers. Not surprisingly, Florida emergency rooms reported a significant increase in drug overdoses from pharmaceuticals. Medical examiners confirmed that the number of prescription-drug-related deaths in Florida each year now exceeds the total deaths by cocaine and heroin abuse combined. Every day, five Floridians lose their lives to prescription-drug abuse. It is not enough to mourn the lost or damaged lives; we must stop this epidemic. We will continue to increase treatment opportunities for addicts. We will continue to aggressively pursue and prosecute those who prey on their vulnerabilities. And we must eliminate access to illicit prescription drugs. Today, addicts and dealers can exploit cracks in our prescription system to obtain large quantities of potent prescription drugs. For the past two years, with my strong support, Sen. Mike Fasano and Rep. Gayle Harrell have sponsored legislation to create a prescription-drug validation program to close these gaps, while maintaining the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship. Although the bill was endorsed by the medical and law-enforcement communities, and passed overwhelmingly by the Senate, the House has yet to bring this important legislation to a final vote. We will introduce the legislation again next spring, and I am encouraged by the commitment of House Speaker Johnnie Byrd to see it passed. With support from Floridians, we will create a validation system that keeps drugs out of the hands of dealers and addicts, while protecting the privacy of Floridians with legitimate prescriptions to fill. Florida continues to fight drug abuse on all fronts -- prevention, treatment and law enforcement. However, as with most diseases, effective prevention is better than the cure. A prescription-validation system will prevent addicts and those who supply them from obtaining pharmaceuticals for illicit use. I applaud Fasano and Harrell for their commitment and tenacity regarding legislation to achieve this, and thank the Orlando Sentinel for raising awareness of this issue. A statute with an equal focus on prevention and privacy will be a valuable tool in the fight against prescription-drug abuse in Florida. SAMPLE LETTER To the editors of The Orlando Sentinel: Governor Jeb Bush's touting of a prescription drug 'validation' program demonstrates ignorance about the fact that those who wish to engage in abusive behavior will do so with or without his government program intrusion. His own daughter's actions in 2002 are a stark example. The pharmacy she attempted to give a fraudulent prescription to had a program in place, yet she chose to engage in the abusive behavior regardless. And even if the Florida legislature were to pass Bush's proposed program, future Noelles would do whatever it takes to obtain their desired drugs. Further, the most harm from his proposal, if enacted, would come to the tens of thousands of Floridians in real need of pain medication who would now be seeing doctors afraid to accurately prescribe needed drugs for fear of becoming a law enforcement target. As for those on the fringe of true AB-use, they will be motivated to seek their drugs from the black market, further enhancing the profits of true criminal drug dealers. Finally, his suggestion that such a program would respect doctor/patient privacy belies the fact that law enforcement agencies and prosecutors would have full access to the previously private information. And these same officers and prosecutors would thus become the arbiters as to who, when and how much medication is appropriate, rather than medical doctors. Why must Floridians get law enforcement clearance before receiving needed medical treatment? Sincerely, Stephen Heath Please note: This is a sample letter only. Your own letter should be substantially different so that it will be considered. Please provide your name and telephone number along with your letter. You will be called if your letter is being considered for publication. ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts, Please See: Writer's Resources http://www.mapinc.org/resource/ TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS: Please utilize the following URLs http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm We wish to thank all our contributors, editors, Newshawks and letter writing activists. Prepared by: Stephen Heath, DPF Florida http://www.dpffl.org = Please help us help reform. Send drug-related news to

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