YULEE, Fla. -- Anytime you pick up controlled drugs like Oxycotin and Xanax, your name and information goes into the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program.
It's a statewide database pharmacists have been using for about a year to keep abusers from doctor shopping. "It's a more serious problem because they are legal, but they are being used illegally," said Nassau Sheriff Bill Leeper.
The only problem is no one is required to check it, and Leeper wants to change that. "It's important for doctors and pharmacist whenever they fill or write prescriptions to review the database," he said.
Instead of going to pain clinics to get their fix, Leeper says pill poppers are now going to dentists, walk-in clinics, emergency rooms and psychiatrists.
He says if they had to check the database before writing a prescription, drug abusers could be stopped in their tracks. "Too many people are killed as a result of taking illegal substances," said Leeper.
It's a small change this sheriff believes could make a big difference.
According to Florida's Department of Law Enforcement, at least six people die everyday in Florida from prescription pill overdose.
