MIAMI (AP) _ The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says purchases of the powerful oxycodone painkiller are dropping sharply in Florida.
DEA says purchases of the highly addictive pills by Florida doctors have gone down 97 percent from 2010 to 2011.
There are also now only 13 doctors in Florida among the top 100 nationally in writing oxycodone prescriptions. In 2010, there were 90 Florida doctors on that list.
Miami DEA chief Mark R. Trouville says stepped-up law enforcement pressure and new restrictive laws are combining to make Florida much less of a haven for pill mills and rogue doctors.
Florida has recently set up a prescription drug monitoring program and new laws have stripped doctors of their ability to dispense controlled substances such as oxycodone.
Dozens of arrests have also been made.
