Jacksonville Criminal Lawyer Blog
As criminal defense lawyers in the Jacksonville, Florida and North Florida area, we have seen a significant increase in the number of criminal cases involving pain clinics and pain management practices throughout Florida and South Georgia. State and federal law enforcement officials have been very active in raiding any medical practices they believe are illegally dispensing pain medication and narcotics in violation of the law and without following the proper medical procedures. They are also arresting doctors and owners of pain clinics for operating these pain clinics without the proper license from the Florida Department of Health. When the police or Drug Enforcement Agency officials raid and search these pain clinics, they often arrest everyone associated with the medical facility, including employees, doctors and owners. They also often seize any assets of value at the medical practice including records, equipment, money and vehicles.
Recently, local police raided another doctor’s office in Maclenny, Baker County, Florida and charged several people with prescription fraud. Police allege that the people arrested at the doctor’s office would provide prescriptions for pain medications for cash without having them examined by the doctor. Police alleged that some of the patients who received the prescription drugs illegally ultimately overdosed.
Pain management facilities have been around for many years, and they provide a valuable service to people dealing with chronic and acute pain. However, law enforcement officials, particularly in Florida, believe that some pain clinics are starting up that are providing pain pills to people who are not being properly examined by a doctor and do not medically need the pills. They refer to these places as pill mills as they allegedly see many patients a day and provide prescription pain medication to anyone for a small fee.
If you have an affiliation with a pain clinic or other pain management facility and have questions about the changing laws that deal with licensure and other issues and want to discuss the proper way to operate a pain management practice, feel free to contact us for a free consultation.