Chan Lowe: The growth of prescription "pharmacies"
Maybe the conservatives are right. Maybe big government is getting in the way of our recovery. Pill mills, after all, have been one of the few bright spots in Florida’s economy.
First, Governor Business-Friendly suddenly got religion and decided, after all, to allow a prescription database in order to cut down on abuse. That certainly put a crimp in business. Then they passed a law saying that a pill mill can’t both write a prescription and fill it. So now the state and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration are flooded with proxy applications to open drugstores that—let’s face it⎯aren’t concerned with peddling bunion pads and Preparation H.
And what do they do? They deny them! This is real employment, folks. Small business…the backbone of America! And, as we know, it’s a growth industry that appears to be recession-proof. It can’t be outsourced to India. It brings a steady stream of clientele from other states directly into our neighborhoods. These people have to eat and stay someplace. I heard of one operation right around the corner from Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale where clients actually had pizzas delivered to them while they waited in line.
Let’s not forget this draconian policy has ripple effects outside Florida, too. How about all those mom-and-pop drug mule operations that cruise down I-75 from Appalachia, catch a few rays, grab the merchandise and high-tail it home? They’ll have to go back to cooking meth in the tobacco barn.
I might remind everyone in Washington that Florida is considered a swing state in the next election. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
CHAN LOWE has been the Sun Sentinel’s first and only editorial cartoonist for the past twenty-six years. Before that, he worked as cartoonist and writer for the Oklahoma City Times and the Shawnee (OK) News-Star.
Comments
LMAO
Posted by: Toddlermom | September 7, 2011 12:48 PM
If marijuana was legal in Florida alot of the pain management clinics & scripts would disappear, and the government would profit a tidy sum.
Posted by: Roxanne Mc. | September 8, 2011 9:33 AM