Urine Prison Now –
April 2, 2019 – The task force coordinated its work with law enforcement in Pennsylvania, where 20 people have been arrested in connection with the scheme. Aronberg said it’s all part of the task force’s efforts to end the “Florida shuffle” that lures drug addicts to the Sunshine State with the promise of recovery. The county created a task force to tackle problematic sober homes, similar to halfway houses, where the formerly drug addicted transition back into society. Officials discovered fraud and abuse at many homes in Palm Beach County and began arresting unscrupulous owners for health-care fraud and illegal patient brokering. Almost three years after Palm Beach County officials set out to combat the epidemic, it looks like their efforts are paying off: The State Attorney’s Office reports there were 326 opioid deaths in 2018, down from 558 in 2017. That’s a 41 percent decline. When the crisis started in 2012, 143 deaths were attributed to these addictive prescription drugs. Then there were 189 deaths in 2014, and 307 in 2015. They hit a peak of 569 in 2016.
