White House Drug Chief Visits Tallahassee
Thursday, March 3, 2011
By: Tom Parkinson

March 3, 2011 | WMFE - The nation's top drug enforcement officer is in Tallahassee today urging state officials not to back away from plans for a prescription drug database that, he says, could help rein in so-called "pill mills." Governor Rick Scott says the database is too expensive and may violate patient privacy. The nation's "Drug Czar" Gil Kerlikowske has the opposite view. He believes the prescription databases are a valuable tool in combating prescription drug abuse.

Kerlikowske, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, is meeting with state Attorney General Pam Bondi to discuss strategies for shutting down the state’s rogue pain management clinics.
Kerlikowske is no stranger to Florida. He graduated from the University of South Florida in Tampa and began his law enforcement career with the St. Petersburg Police Department in the early 1970s.
90.7’s Tom Parkinson asked him why he considers Florida’s pill mill problem a national issue.