Licenses required for pain clinics under new law

ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia will no longer be a haven for pain clinics that authorities say are fronts for illegal distribution of prescription pain medication.

Gov. Nathan Deal has signed into law new regulations that require all pain clinics to get licenses from the state medical board. The new law also tightens regulations of the physicians who own and work in the clinics.

Many of the businesses are legitimate, but some operators have been prosecuted for forging prescriptions. The number of clinics in Georgia has ballooned as surrounding states tightened their regulations. Many new clinics have owners who live out-of-state and are not physicians. Authorities say they've also tracked clinics where many patients come from other states.

Attorney General Sam Olens and law enforcement agencies asked lawmakers to tighten the Georgia laws.