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Senate battles prescription drug abuse 1/9/2004

A Senate Committee is attempting for the third year straight to pass a plan that would collect the personal information of all those with prescription drugs.

The idea is to create a database maintained by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement of personal information of all those who at one time may have used a prescription drug.

Legislative staff counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, Larry Spalding says the problem is determining who is going to have access to the data and under what circumstances. Spalding says the proponents of the bill feel there is now a better chance of passage because of the notoriety of the Rush Limbaugh case. Although more people are now talking about the problem of prescription drug addiction, Spalding says protecting the personal freedoms of innocent people is a big price to pay for something that does not guarantee complete capture of offenders.

The bill continues to be met with resistance in both the House and the Senate

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• Proponents of the bill are hoping the Limbaugh story will aid them in getting the bill passed.
• The ACLU has problems with the bill
• "The bill continues to be met with resistance in both the House and the Senate."

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