CNN 2011-06-03

Cross-country now.In Brevard County, Florida, Memorial Day turned into a war against jellyfish. Brevard County Ocean Rescue says more than 800 people were stung from Cocoa Beach to Cape¹ Canaveral.

Maricopa County, Arizona, the man who built himself as America's toughest sheriff may run for the Senate, U.S. Senate that is. Joe Arpaio says he's raised $5 million without even trying. That's a quote from him. The sheriff says he might run for senator, Jon Kyl's seat in 2012. Kyl is retiring.

It's something I'm looking at. And it comes up all the time. So, I'm not going to make my decision yet. I'll make it pretty soon. I don't have to be a U.S. senator to get a little press in Washington D.C.

No, he really doesn't.

And the royal newlyweds will spend three days in Los Angeles as part of their first North American tour. Will and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, will spend eight days touring Canada before ending their visit in L.A. July 8th, 9th and 10th.

A palace spokesman calls it a working visit. They will be raising money for charity.

This week, we are going in depth on medication nation. Americans have been led to believe by doctors and advertisers in the pharmaceutical² industry that there's a pill to cure just about everything. CNN networks have looked into the politics and the pills.

Today, John Zarrella reports on Florida's pill mill problem.

On the side of a busy Hollywood, Florida road, a memorial. Rene Doyle comes here once a week.

And he was laying on the road covered. I didn't know it was him.

A couple of years ago on a December evening, Rene's son, Blaine, out of his mind with pain pills, she says, walked into traffic, was hit and killed. Rene is a nurse. She is not sure when her son's addiction³ began. Ultimately, he was hooked on a prescription⁴ drug cocktail⁵.

The combination of oxycodone with methadone and Xanax.

In Florida, satisfying his habit was easy. He would doctor shop, going from one pill mill to the next where no one asked questions.

The amounts are ridiculous. They would give him 240 of 30 milligram Oxies and an additional 120 of 15 milligrams of Oxy at one visit.

So you're talking 360 pills?

Yeah. And 90 Xanax and go on to another pill mill.

Broward County was the epicenter for painkiller⁶ pill mills. There were 27 just in one city, Oakland Park. Police conducted raids. As soon as one was shut down, another would open. People from across the southeastern United States came here for pills. Florida became known as the Oxycontin Express.

In a six month time frame alone, in two counties in Florida, Broward and Palm Beach, over nine million oxycodone pills were dispensed⁷.

Rondi, Florida's newly elected attorney general made it her mission to get legislation passed that would shut down the pill mills.

Mike DeWine, the attorney general in Ohio, called me and said, Pam, they're flying down from Ohio to Florida. Help us. You've got to stop this problem.A pill mill bill passed in the Florida legislature. It stops doctors from dispensing⁸ painkillers⁹ in their offices or clinics. Surgeons and hospices are exempt¹⁰. It establishes a drug-monitoring database where pharmacies¹¹ will enter information on painkiller prescriptions¹² aimed at stopping doctor shopping.

The majority of the 50 states now have a database. And on the federal level a bill has been introduced that doubles from 10 to 20 years the prison sentence for anyone convicted of running a pill mill. And it imposes a $3 million fine.

On a side street in Ft. Lauderdale across from a pain clinic, people gather. Many are mothers who meet once a month outside a different pain clinic. Rene Doyle is among them. The signs they hold up carry pictures of sons or daughters who died from an overdose. They blame the doctors who made it so easy.

As far as I'm concerned, they're murderers. They're truly murderous. These doctors have no conscience.

The mothers vow¹³ to continue their monthly rallies until not a single pill mill remains¹⁴.

John Zarrella, CNN, Hollywood Florida.

1 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

2 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

3 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

4 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

5 cocktail   

n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物

参考例句：

• We invited some foreign friends for a cocktail party.我们邀请了一些外国朋友参加鸡尾酒会。
• At a cocktail party in Hollywood,I was introduced to Charlie Chaplin.在好莱坞的一次鸡尾酒会上，人家把我介绍给查理·卓别林。

6 painkiller   

n.止痛药

参考例句：

• I shall persuade him to take the painkiller.我将说服他把药吃下去。
• The painkiller only provides him a short respite from his pain.止痛药仅仅让他在疼痛中有短暂的疏解。

7 dispensed   

v.分配( dispense的过去式和过去分词 )；施与；配（药）

参考例句：

• Not a single one of these conditions can be dispensed with. 这些条件缺一不可。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• They dispensed new clothes to the children in the orphanage. 他们把新衣服发给孤儿院的小孩们。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 dispensing   

v.分配( dispense的现在分词 )；施与；配（药）

参考例句：

• A dispensing optician supplies glasses, but doesn't test your eyes. 配镜师为你提供眼镜，但不检查眼睛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The firm has been dispensing ointments. 本公司配制药膏。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 painkillers   

n.止痛药( painkiller的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The doctor gave him some painkillers to ease the pain. 医生给了他一些止疼片以减缓疼痛。 来自辞典例句
• The primary painkillers - opiates, like OxyContin - are widely feared, misunderstood and underused. 人们对主要的镇痛药——如鸦片剂奥施康定——存在广泛的恐惧、误解，因此没有充分利用。 来自时文部分

10 exempt   

adj.免除的；v.使免除；n.免税者，被免除义务者

参考例句：

• These goods are exempt from customs duties.这些货物免征关税。
• He is exempt from punishment about this thing.关于此事对他已免于处分。

11 pharmacies   

药店

参考例句：

• Still, 32 percent of the pharmacies filled the prescriptions. 但仍然有32%的药剂师配发了这两张药方。 来自互联网
• Chinese herbal pharmacies, and traditional massage therapists in the Vancouver telephone book. 中药店，和传统的按摩师在温哥华的电话簿里。 来自互联网

12 prescriptions   

药( prescription的名词复数 )； 处方； 开处方； 计划

参考例句：

• The hospital of traditional Chinese medicine installed a computer to fill prescriptions. 中医医院装上了电子计算机来抓药。
• Her main job was filling the doctor's prescriptions. 她的主要工作就是给大夫开的药方配药。

13 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

14 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。