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Kasich signs “Pill
Mill” Legislation
Ramps Up Fight Against Prescription Drug Abuse
COLUMBUS – As part of his push to fight the rampant prescription drug
abuse spreading across Ohio, today Gov. John R. Kasich signed House
Bill 93 (Burke, Johnson). The legislation, which received
unanimous support from the Ohio General Assembly, will strengthen the
state’s ability to shut down “pill mill” operations led by corrupt
doctors who dispense lethal doses of pain medications to anyone with a
few hundred dollars.
“If you overprescribe, we’re going to come get you. This is about
our children. It’s about our mothers and fathers. It’s
really about Ohio families,” said Kasich during today’s press
conference. “These doctors are fantastic people but some of them
are abusing their profession…and it is critical that the medical board
maintain the integrity of the profession. So really the message
is, if you’re out there breaking the law, you may get away with it for
a while but these professionals, they’re gonna come get you.”
Joining Gov. Kasich for Friday’s bill signing were bill sponsors Reps.
David Burke and Terry Johnson, Sen. Jimmy Stewart, Rep. Lynn Wachtmann,
Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services (ODADAS)
Director Orman Hall, Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Administrator
Steve Buehrer, former Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery, local law
enforcement officials, and members of SOLACE – a support group for
those who have lost loved ones to prescription drug abuse.
Passage of HB 93 is just one flank of a multi-pronged battle to end the
prescription drug abuse epidemic that has shattered the lives of
Ohioans across the state from the Ohio River to the shores of Lake
Erie. Gov. Kasich first launched the fight against prescription
drug abuse in February when he visited Scioto County to announce the
formation of a statewide task force led by ODADAS Director Orman Hall
and former Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery. In April, Gov.
Kasich announced that through local, state and federal cooperation, $36
million would be available for drug treatment and prevention throughout
the state.
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