Authorities believe that's only a fraction of those supplying possibly dangerous drugs

Sept. 2, 2010, 9:18PM

Doctors have registered 217 pain clinics with the Texas Medical Board under a new state law meant to attack rogue pill mills, though authorities suspect the newly-documented clinics represent only a fraction of a massive network of suppliers of potentially dangerous prescription pills.

As many as 200 clinics dispense millions of controlled drugs each year in the Houston area alone, law enforcement officials estimate.

The law required pain clinic owners to register by Wednesday, a process created to combat organized crime and accidental overdose deaths tied to a proliferation of cash-only prescription pill pushers.