Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. ~Benjamin Franklin
Many South Florida physicians are permitted to dispense addictive painkillers while also treating addicts with special medications. This has experts in the drug addiction world worried.
Some of the same clinics offering treatment are targeted by drug couriers from outside the state. These couriers are looking for drugs to sell around the country on the black market. Many of the physicians who are both pain and addiction specialists have been disciplined or convicted of crimes.
The disturbing trend is that these doctors still have permission from the federal government to prescribe buprenorphine – a drug drug used to help people shed their addiction to opiates. Addiction experts say this crossover of two medical fields has dire consequences. Instead of addicts actively seeking treatment, they may intensify their addiction by seeking these doctors and clinics.