Operation Pilluted is the biggest ever prescription drug crackdown conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). On May 20, 2015, 280 individuals were arrested including 22 physicians and pharmacists. Those detained have been indicted in federal court and, if they are convicted, will serve sentences in federal penitentiary.
The goal was to
stop the "pill mills" that unlawfully provide commonly abused
narcotics for example Vicodin, OxyContin, and Valium. The
arrests occurred in Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi and came at
the end of a 15 month long investigation into the illegal distribution of
controlled substances.
Prescription drug abuse in the United States has
reached epidemic levels. The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention has declared that since 1999, the number of
prescription painkillers prescribed in the US has almost quadrupled and 44
people per day die from prescription drug overdoses.
Healthcare
professionals are critical in controlling this epidemic because unlawful prescribing
practices are among the main factors in the growth of prescription drug abuse.
Operation Pilluted
clearly demonstrates that the law is being broken by some healthcare
professionals as a way to profit from this growing epidemic. Pill mills can be
a very lucrative business that some, unfortunately, cannot resist.
The healthcare industry,
in addition to state medical licensing boards, must remain alert and assist in
solving this health issue.
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