Drug-related, opioid-caused and fentanyl-caused deaths are all on the decline in Florida, but work must continue to contain the crisis still claiming thousands of lives, the state's attorney general said at a news conference Tuesday.
Attorney General Ashley Moody went over the results of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Medical Examiners Drugs Identified in Deceased Persons 2023 Interim Report, saying she was “cautiously optimistic” at the news conference in Tampa.
She insisted, however, that the danger remains, as thousands of people are still dying of overdoses every year in the state.
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'Encouraging' statistics
According to Moody, the data from January to June 2023 showed the greatest percentage decrease in fentanyl-caused deaths since 2016.
This is also the third consecutive report to show a decrease in total drug-related deaths, she said.
Drug-related, opioid-caused and fentanyl-caused deaths dropped seven, 10 and 10 percent, respectively.
"I am proud to say that in our fight, Florida is getting it right. We lead the nation in fentanyl seizures," the attorney general said.
Tampa Bay also dropped from ranking fourth-highest in fentanyl-caused deaths in the state to sixth.
“This news is encouraging… but the death toll is still way too high,” Moody said.
Prevalence of fentanyl
Fentanyl continues to be the leading cause of drug-related deaths, FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass said at the news conference.
In the first six months of 2023, more than 7,000 people died of a drug overdose in Florida, officials said, citing the data. Twenty-five hundred of those deaths were caused by fentanyl.
"Twenty-five hundred deaths in six months, just to fentanyl alone. That's a staggering stat," Glass said.
Seven out of 10 pills seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) contained a lethal dose of fentanyl, according to Moody.
"It is highly likely that whatever drug you think you’re taking is laced with fentanyl," she said.
Moody said that to put things in perspective, at the start of the “Just Say No” campaign in the 1980s, “we were losing just over 3,000 nationwide to drug overdose deaths... and at the time, we were considered to be in a drug overdose crisis. We now lose over 100,000 Americans every year to drug overdose deaths.”
"Everyone in Florida has felt the effect of an opioid death or a family member, a friend, struggling with opioid addiction," she said.
Effectiveness of law enforcement operations
The attorney general said authorities have been "relentless" in their efforts to get opioids off the streets.
Glass said that in the past six to eight months, authorities have seized 37 kilograms of fentanyl, more than 30,000 fentanyl pills, 55 kilograms of cocaine, 20 kilograms of methamphetamines, half a million dollars in currency and 72 firearms.
"This is just the start," he said.
Community support and resources
"It is not just about law enforcement stepping up their game and going after fentanyl traffickers. It is about those of you in the community that are hearing us," Moody said.
She said officials need the public's help in making sure those struggling with addiction get help at treatmentatlas.org.
"You're listening to the information that we're giving you about the danger of using illicit drugs. You're talking to your family members that you know have a problem; you're helping them get help," she said.
If you or someone you know is struggling with drug addiction, call the national hotline for drug abuse at 1-888-633-3239 to receive information regarding treatment and recovery.
