Schenck promises a better alternative to drug database

Rob Schenck knows Florida has a drug problem, but he hasn't approved of the government's steps toward fixing it.

He thinks it's wandering in the wrong direction.

The existence of a database that includes all of the names of Florida residents who purchase prescription medicine doesn't sit well with the Republican lawmaker.

Schenck, who represents the district that encompasses Spring Hill, is the House Health and Human Services chairman. Speaker Dean Cannon tapped him to lead a review of the state's methods to combat the ever-growing prescription drug problem.

"Pill mill pain clinics are a huge problem in Florida," said Schenck. "A government database isn't the way to go ... it should be scary for all citizens that Big Brother has that information."

He said he still hopes to give law enforcement more tools to arrest and prosecute criminals and abusers. He wants to amend the criminal code and make penalties steeper.

"One of my goals this session is to come up with a more-viable alternative that is solution oriented," said Schenck, who wasn't yet ready to provide specifics. "We have bad-acting doctors writing out prescriptions without seeing patients. No big-brother database is going to get at that problem.

"Monitoring only identifies," he continued. "That doesn't give you the ability to stop behavior."

Gov. Rick Scott stated more than a week ago he wanted to eliminate the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program that implemented the database. It was signed into law by then-Gov. Charlie Crist in 2009.

Scott can't draft a bill. He needs someone on the House or Senate floor to do it for him. The perception is that Schenck might be taking that position.

Schenck's biggest opponent might be the state senator whose district overlaps his.

Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, was displeased with the governor's recommendation, saying it was "beyond comprehension."

Fasano said he spent seven years trying to get the program signed into law. He drafted a bill this year designed to build upon it and make Florida's laws more in line with other states.

Florida, he says, has a reputation for being too relaxed with its prescription drug laws.

"Without this important program, Florida will take a step back 10 years or more into the past," said Fasano.

Scott's proposal is getting notice in other states, namely Kentucky.

Kentucky Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo, a physician, told the Lexington Herald-Leader last week he doesn't think Scott understands the extent of the prescription drug abuse epidemic.

"What they're doing by this is basically setting up billboards across the country saying, 'Come to Florida and get your drugs,'" Mongiardo said in the article. "Unfortunately, the end result is people dying."

Schenck said he and Fasano have the same goal in mind when it comes to one-stop medicine clinics - get rid of them.

"We need a feasible way to cut down on and hopefully eliminate these pill mills," Schenck said.