This is just absurd. As is often the case, we can find civil forfeiture laws contributing to this bizarre pursuit.
Miscellaneous Heathen
Hold to the now, the here, through which all future plunges to the past.
This is just absurd. As is often the case, we can find civil forfeiture laws contributing to this bizarre pursuit.
A little light research indicates fairly clearly that pill mills are indeed a serious and growing problem, especially in Texas- see San Antonio and Houston. A close friend of mine is now dead due in part (and only in part) to the ease with which these places operate, not to mention their omnipresence.
Trust me, I know, and I know all too well how others work the well-known network of mills to produce substantial income to buy substances that will never be available at a pharmacy. I’ve seen the culture and the business from the inside out. This is not a phony epidemic drummed up by money grubbing LEAs, and it’s awfully absurd to suggest that it is.
However, if we are to believe The Agitator, it would appear that the DEA is making the mistake of placing excessive pressure and focus on apparently legitimate pharmacies, doctors, and patients, and that’s about as smart as making people sign at the counter for Sudafed. We need much smarter supply chain control strategies. Hassling everybody as a means of maybe, accidentally catching highly motivated and skilled illegitimate operators is dumb, lazy, abusive, and unacceptable.
There’s an opportunity here for an Oxycontin/Rush Limbaugh zinger here, but I’ll have to leave that for another day.
Given that Balko’s job is researching these trends, I’m gonna go with him on this one.