TAMPA - Prescription drug abuse kills roughly one person a day in Hillsborough County, law enforcement officials say, far outpacing the number of people who die from heroin and cocaine overdoses.

Yet illicit "pain management clinics," which are often the source of prescriptions for these drugs, are barely regulated.

"It's legalized drug trafficking that's going on here," said county commissioner Kevin Beckner who sponsored an ordinance to regulate the clinics.

Tampa and Hillsborough officials this week took action to crack down on pain clinics.

County Commissioners passed an ordinance unanimously Wednesday that requires , all existing pain clinics to be licensed with the state Department of Health, beginning June 15. The ordinance also creates a moratorium on new pain clinics.

Tampa city council today approved a resolution requiring controversial pain-management clinics in the city to obtain a permit from the city and register with the state. The resolution also sets rules for clinics' operation.

The measure, approved unanimously, stops short of a ban on clinics that dispense pills but imposes tough new rules and registration requirements for existing clinics.

The emergency move comes ahead of a state law regulating the clinics that goes into effect Oct. 1.

"We can't wait for the state law, we're in an epidemic," Marc Hamlin, assistant Chief of the Tampa Police Department, told city council members today. "People are dying."

More than 70 pain clinics are registered with the county chapter of the state Department of Health. Figures estimate there are roughly 35 pain clinics in the city. But the Hillsborough Sheriff's Office says dozens more are operating without any kind of license or monitoring. The lack of oversight, both in Hillsborough and around Florida, has made the state and county a magnet for drug abusers from around the country.

The explosion of prescription drug abuse and the resulting mortality and crime were outlined for commissioners by sheriff's Maj. Donna Lusczynski. A recent five-week undercover investigation by detectives resulted in 135 arrests or warrants. Lusczynski said her detectives arrested 14 people from out of state during the sting and another 34 Floridians who lived in other counties.

"That was just a five-week operation and we think we barely touched the tip of the iceberg," Lusczynski said.

Two parents brought home to commissioners the breadth of the problem and the devastation addiction can bring to a family.

Dan Rodda told commissioners his son Kelly, 28, died from prescription pain medications after he got addicted following a dirt bike accident. Kelly started "shopping" doctors, Rodda said, and found one who eventually prescribed 840 methadone tables plus other pain medications in the 90 days before Kelly died. One pharmacist filled a prescription for 240 methadone pills.

"How could that not raise a red flag to somebody?" Rodda asked commissioners.

Scott Fisher said his daughter Amanda is now in the Falkenburg Road jail because of charges related to her addiction.

"For the last two years, I've seen my child become something I didn't think she could become," Fisher said.

The county ordinance mirrors a state law regulating prescription drug use that goes into effect in October. But the county ordinance, using authority granted by the state in the county charter, gives Hillsborough more local control, said managing county attorney Sheree Fish.

Registration requires a licensed physician to be responsible for prescriptions written by a clinic or for drugs dispensed there. Each clinic will have to provide a list of employees and information about each employee including name, address, date of birth, a copy of a photo identification and a set of fingerprints. Prescriptions pads must have the clinic's name and its county license number.

Applicants for a pain clinic license will be charged $1,500, plus an annual fee of $1,000. Licensing will be handled by the county's consumer protection department and code enforcement will handle inspections.

Under the new city rules, clinic operators will have to apply for the permit, which includes submitting its registration number from the state Department of Health, providing a list to the city of clinic employees and volunteers and attesting to the fact that they have not hired any felons, particularly those convicted of drug-related felonies.

The fee for the city permit has yet to be determined.

Other requirements include regular city inspections and limits on hours of operation.

By Reporter Mike Salinero, Tampa Tribune