Florida fentanyl deaths dip for 1st time in 12 years, Escambia still leads in overdose deaths

The number of drug overdose deaths in Florida has dropped slightly, according to the latest data provided by the state’s Bureau of Vital Statistics.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody presented the data at a press conference with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday to discuss how the state is faring against a national rise in overdoses and what experts are calling a deadly drug crisis.

For the first time since 2018, the annual report showed a 3% drop in the number of drug-related deaths in Florida.

Florida overdose numbers: In Marion County, Attorney General Ashley Moody says border security key in fight against drugs

Moody, who spoke alongside Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass and Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods, linked the decline to the partnership between state government and local law enforcement.

One of the policy measures praised during the conference was opening up the availability of Narcan, a medicine that comes in a spray form capable of reversing an opioid overdose.

During the conference, it was announced that Narcan can now be purchased from Walmart.

Here’s what to know about drug overdoses in Florida and what the state is doing to combat them.

Escambia County still struggles with highest overdose rate in Florida

The Pensacola medical district, which includes Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties, maintained the highest overdose rate in the state.

The News Journal reported last year that the Pensacola medical district was the deadliest area in Florida for opioid-related deaths.

At the time of publication, only the 2022 Interim Drugs Identified in Deceased Persons had been released, which showed data between January and June 2022. At the time, 350 people in the Pensacola medical district died with opioids in their system, and 217 of those deaths were of fentanyl or its analogous ingredients.

Pensacola medical district: Pensacola medical district ranks No. 1 in Florida opioid deaths; double state average

By the end of 2022, 624 people died with opioids in their system, and 398 of those deaths were of fentanyl or its analogous ingredients.

Data pulled from the Florida Department of Health for age-adjusted deaths from drug poisoning found that 75 Escambia County residents die from drug poisoning per 100,000 population, more than double the state average.

Santa Rosa County's drug overdose rate was 34.1, Okaloosa County's was 54.1 and Walton County's was 36.

Key takeaways from Florida’s opioid and drug overdose report

The data used to draw these comparisons are made to the 2021 calendar year, unless otherwise noted.

• Total drug-related deaths decreased by 3% (546 less).

• 8,012 opioid-related deaths were reported, which is a 5% decrease (399 less). The opioids were identified as either the cause of death or merely present in the decedent.

• 6,157 opioid-caused deaths were reported, which is a 4% decrease (285 less).

• 9,230 (5% decrease, 448 less) individuals died with one or more prescription drugs in their system.

• 6,234 (4.5% decrease, 293 less) individuals died with at least one prescription drug in their system that was identified as the cause of death.

• The most frequently occurring drugs found in decedents were fentanyl (6,230), ethyl alcohol (6,196), cocaine (3,930), benzodiazepines (3,738, including 1,238 alprazolam occurrences), cannabinoids (3,564), methamphetamine (2,918), amphetamine (2,672), oxycodone (1,014), fentanyl analogs (1,005), gabapentin (967) and morphine (861).

• The drugs that caused the most deaths were fentanyl (5,622), cocaine (2,598), methamphetamine (2,193), ethyl alcohol (1,364), benzodiazepines (900, including 528 alprazolam deaths), amphetamine (850) and fentanyl analogs (844). Fentanyl (90%), fentanyl analogs (84%), methamphetamine (75%), heroin (73%), cathinones (67%), cocaine (66%), methadone (59%), xylazine (57%) and mitragynine (56%) were listed as causing death in more than 50% of the deaths in which these drugs were found.

• Occurrences of heroin decreased by 51% (237 less) and deaths caused by heroin decreased by 55.5% (206 less).

• Occurrences of fentanyl decreased by 3% (187 less) and deaths caused by fentanyl decreased by 3% (169 less).

• Occurrences of methadone decreased by 23% (90 less) and deaths caused by methadone decreased by 17.5% (37 less).

• Occurrences of oxycodone decreased by 9% (97 less) and deaths caused by oxycodone decreased by 14% (72 less).

• Occurrences of cocaine decreased by 2% (85 less) and deaths caused by cocaine decreased by 3% (79 less)

• Occurrences of methamphetamine decreased by 0.5% (16 less) and deaths caused by methamphetamine increased by 4% (92 more). Occurrences of amphetamine increased by 1% (25 more) and deaths caused by amphetamine decreased by 2% (15 less). In the body, methamphetamine is metabolized to amphetamine, thus many occurrences of amphetamine likely represent illicit methamphetamine ingestion rather than pharmaceutical amphetamine use.

Florida drug overdose rate by county

What opioids does Florida track?

Here is the list of opioids included in Florida’s report:

• Codeine

• Fentanyl

• Fentanyl analogs

• Heroin

• Hydrocodone

• Hydromorphone

• Methadone

• Morphine

• Oxycodone

• Oxymorphone

• Tramadol

• U-47700

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Florida overdose deaths are down, but Escambia is still at the top