Jacksonville Criminal Lawyer Blog
At Lasnetski Gihon Law in Jacksonville, Florida, we represent people who are being investigated or have been arrested and charged with crimes relating to pain clinics and pain management practices, whether they are doctors, owners or employees. Over the last several years, we have seen a significant increase in state and federal investigations of pain clinics in Florida and Georgia. State and federal law enforcement officials take the position that many of these pain clinics are so-called “pill mills” that prescribe addictive pain medication to people as quickly as possible and without performing the proper examinations. While there are some pill mills out there, many pain management clinics are operating properly and legally, yet they are still the subject of criminal investigations. Clearly, there are many people with chronic pain who are greatly benefited by pain management doctors but who are not fortunate enough to have adequate insurance.
Another example of law enforcement going after pain clinics was seen in South Florida recently. Thirty-two people, including doctors and owners of pain clinics, were charged with crimes relating to the distribution of pain pills last week. They were calling this the largest illegal pain clinic operation in the country and alleged that 20 million pain pills were distributed for a profit of approximately $40 million between 2008 and 2010. Oxycodone was the primary prescription drug that was issued to the patients.
According to the Attorney General’s office, Florida leads the nation in illegal pain medication distribution. Articles like this one about the police shutting down a pain clinic and arresting multiple doctors, owners and employees are not uncommon.