Florida Drug Deaths Decline During First Half of 2012
TALLAHASSEE, Florida – The 2012 Interim Drugs Identified in Deceased Persons Report shows a
significant decrease in the number of oxycodone deaths in Florida statewide during
the first 6 months of 2012 compared to the second half of 2011.
Oxycodone death occurrences plunged 29.1 percent while all prescription
drug deaths dropped by more than 100 people.
“As a husband, father and grandfather, the safety of
Florida families is of paramount importance to my administration – and
thanks to our sheriffs, police officers and prosecutors, Florida has
experienced a 41 year crime low," Governor
Rick Scott said. "Today’s news that deaths related to
oxycodone abuse are down by 29 percent means our work to fight
prescription drug abuse is working. Two years ago, Florida was home to
90 of the top 100 oxycodone purchasing physicians on a nationwide list,
and today Florida isn’t on that list. While this is great news, no
family should ever lose a loved one from drug abuse, and we’ll continue
working in close partnership with law enforcement to make Florida an
even safer place to live.”
In
March of 2011, Governor Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi
spearheaded efforts to stop prescription drug abuse across Florida by
creating the Statewide Drug Enforcement Strike Force teams and working
with lawmakers to close loopholes allowing illegitimate doctors and
pharmacies to overprescribe and dispense these dangerous drugs – often
under the guise of a pain clinic.
The
report shows that in the first 6 months of 2012, drugs were present or
the cause of death in 4,126 people in Florida, a drop of 203 over the
interim 2011 report. Despite the decrease in prescription drug deaths,
those drugs continued to be found more often than illicit drugs in cause
of death.
“Two
years ago, Florida was the epicenter of prescription drug abuse; today
we are a national role model for both enforcement and regulation,” said
FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey. “We’ve made tremendous strides, but
prescription drug abuse remains a significant concern.”
In Brevard County
alone for the first six months of 2012, the number of decedents who either (i) had the following
substances present or (ii) the substance was the actual cause of death
or (iii) both were as follows:
Brevard County - January through June 2012
Cocaine 28
Morphine 18
Methadone 24
Hydrocodone 18
Oxycodone 51
Diazepam 22
Alprazolam 32
Brevard County - All of 2011
Cocaine 38
Morphine 27
Methadone 40
Hydrocodone 37
Oxycodone 103
Diazepam 34
Alprazolam 69