Final answer:
Florida's unique demographics and the high number of elderly residents led to it becoming a hotspot for painkiller abuse, as unscrupulous doctors and pharmacists heavily over-prescribed opioids. This created a black market, leading to the state being labeled the pain medicine capital of the US, aided by widely used transportation routes known as 'The OxyContin Express.'
Step-by-step explanation:
The state of Florida developed a significant problem with prescription drug abuse, particularly painkillers, due to its unique geographical and demographic characteristics. A large population of elderly residents with age-related chronic pain made it easier for unscrupulous doctors and pharmacists to over-prescribe opioid drugs such as Oxycodone, often to drug dealers posing as patients. This led to Florida becoming known as the pain medicine capital of the US during the 1990s. By 2009, Florida's doctors were prescribing Oxycodone at a rate ten times higher than the rest of the country combined. These drugs, acquired under the guise of legitimate prescriptions from pain clinics, were then distributed and sold illegally on the streets across the eastern United States. Infamous transportation routes, including air routes and Interstate 75, were often referred to as "The OxyContin Express" due to the frequent trips made by drug dealers to Florida's pill mills.