Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Miami Herald - June 14, 2003
Erika Bolstad, ebolstad@herald.com
The law, signed Friday by Gov. Jeb Bush during a ceremony in Fort Lauderdale, was inspired by prescription drug fraud in South Florida, including cases where pharmacies were selling watered-down versions of cancer drugs. The legislation was based on recommendations from a Broward County grand jury, which studied the sale and resale of counterfeit drugs in the wholesale market.
The new law creates more stringent guidelines for drug wholesalers, including background checks.
It also creates more serious felonies for forging drug labels and selling prescription drugs that result in death or injury.
Violators now face a life sentence for such offenses; previously, the maximum was five years, said Sen. Durell Peaden Jr., the Crestview Republican who sponsored the bill.
"The protection of patients is paramount," Peaden said during the ceremony. "Anyone who violates this statute and who intentionally would do a criminal act for money should be prosecuted. Life may not be enough for them."
The ceremony brought out Broward's Chief Judge Dale Ross, along with Broward State Attorney Michael Satz, Sen. Walter "Skip" Campbell, D-Coral Springs, and state Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Dania Beach.
Bush described the measure as a bright spot out of the bumpy 2003 legislative session that was dominated by tension over the budget between house and senate Republicans.
"Patients should really have the confidence that the drugs they're taking are the ones they have been prescribed to take," Bush said.
Several recent high-profile federal cases are the kind that could be prosecuted under the new state law, said Attorney General Charlie Crist.
They include three South Florida black marketeers who pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to selling counterfeit prescription drugs. Those drugs, including vials of the anemia-fighting Procrit, could have endangered hundreds of HIV and cancer patients, investigators said.
Eddy Gorrin, 30, of Pembroke Pines, pleaded guilty to trafficking in counterfeit goods. His cousin, electrician Duviel Gonzalez, 31, of Miami, and salesman William O. Chavez, 39, of Miami, pleaded guilty to unlawful distribution of prescription drugs without a license.
Earlier this year, Coral Springs urologist Victor Souaid was charged with product tampering, healthcare fraud and selling medicine without a wholesale license. According to a federal indictment, Souaid was watering down and in some cases withholding Lupron, a powerful prostate cancer drug.
The new law will make it easier for state law enforcement officials to go after people who prey on the sick and vulnerable, Crist said.
"This legislation is the most sweeping prescription safety legislation in America," Crist said.
"Florida's sending a loud message."
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