Addicted To Opioids: Does Pasco County Have The Solution?

NEW PORT RICHEY, FL -- The Pasco County Commission will host an Opioid Prevention and Treatment Workshop Tuesday, Aug. 28, at 10 a.m. in the West Pasco Government Center Board Room, first floor, 8731 Citizens Drive, New Port Richey.

Representatives from area agencies, as well as industry experts on opioid alternatives, will join the discussion on this topic.

Scheduled participants include:

*Pasco County Community Services

*Pasco County Sheriff's Office

*Pasco County Treatment Courts

*Pasco County Housing Authority

*BayCare Behavioral Health

*Pasco County Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention (A.S.A.P.)

*ANANDA Scientific and MagicalButter.com

This collaborative effort is the first of its kind by the Board of County Commissioners and aims to address current initiatives as well as future plans to combat opioid addiction in Pasco County.

In May, Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a statewide public health emergency related to the opioid epidemic in the wake of more than 5,700 people dying of opioid overdoses in Florida in 2016. The declaration gave the state access to $27 million in federal grant funding to help with prevention, treatment and recovery support efforts (see related story).

Prior to the federal funding, however, both the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office and Pasco County Fire Rescue adopted first-of-a-kind state initiatives to prevent opioid overdose deaths.

In addition to illegally acquired prescription painkillers like oxycodone and Percocet, the sheriff’s office is has seen an increase in opioid overdoses from drug dealers blending heroin with the powerful sedative fentanyl, often used to the relieve the pain of dying Hospice patients. The mixture can be deadly for heroin addicts who are unaware that their fix contains the powerful fentanyl drug. Oftentimes, by the time rescue workers reach the overdose victim, it’s too late.

In March, Pasco deputies began carrying a medication designed to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Marketed under the brand name Narcan (short for narcotic antagonist), naloxone hydrochloride works best when administered intravenously but can also be injected into muscle or administered as a nasal spray.

The sheriff’s office released a video of an overdose victim receiving Narcan. Michael Vincent Caselluccio overdosed in his SUV. By the time deputies reached him, he was unresponsive. He had a pulse but appeared limp and lifeless.

Caselluccio was still unconscious when firefighter-paramedics arrived and administered Narcan. In about 1 minute and 20 seconds, he regained consciousness.

Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said the video demonstrates how critical Narcan is to saving lives. He has now trained 942 Pasco Sheriff’s Office employees in the use of Narcan and 663 certified deputies carry individual Narcan rescue kits while on duty. Additionally, there are 258 detention deputies and civilian personnel certified in the administration of Narcan.

Pasco County firefighters have administered Narcan for 1,200 overdoses since the beginning of the year. In only one case the Narcan was unsuccessful and the overdose victim died.

In addition to saving the lives of people who have overdosed on opioids, Pasco County’s initiative is focusing on keeping opioids out of the hands of addicts.

According to Nocco, last year a person overdosed on opioids in Pasco County every three days. That statistic prompted the Pasco County Commission to join an ever-growing number of Florida municipalities to file suit againstmanufacturers and distributors of opioid medications.

In January, the commission retained the Pensacola-based attorney Jeff Gaddy to represent the county. Gaddy’s team has filed more than 81 lawsuits on behalf of clients in 10 states alleging that opioid distributors made false claims about the products’ addictiveness and used incentives to convince doctors to prescribe opioids. So far, more than 200 lawsuits have been filed around the country against opioid manufacturers and distributors.

The rising number of opioid overdose deaths in Tampa Bay prompted U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to pay a visit in February to discuss what the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency is doing to combat the problem (see related story).

On the legislative end, U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Palm Harbor, said this year the healthcare subcommittee passed 56 bills and provided $4 billion in funding to combat opioid abuse.

He said Florida will receive a $1 million grant to fund two initiatives including “the link between crisis care and follow-up treatment that is critical to a patient’s long term recovery.”

“These funds are in addition to the $27 million allocated to Florida from Congress as the second installment of the 21st Century Cures initiative,” he said, adding that the funding is separate from the $4 billion allocated nationwide in the appropriations bill.

However, he said money and enforcement alone won’t solve the problem.

“One part of the solution to the opioid crisis is making sure that excess medication is disposed of properly,” he said. To that end, he commended local law enforcement agencies for taking part in the DEA's National Rx Drug Take-Back programs in an effort to get the drugs off the streets.

Law enforcement officials say home burglars are now more likely to steal prescription bottles of oxycodone and codeine than electronics. And medicine cabinets filled with old prescription drugs have become a magnet for teenagers.

Sessions said the statistics don't begin to reflect the heartache and suffering of having a family member overdose on opioids. Just ask the family of 17-year-old Plant High School student Katie Golden, he said. She overdosed on fentanyl-laced heroin last year.

Video via Pasco Sheriff

Patch will be covering the opioid crisis over the next few months. If you are addicted to opioids or know someone who is addicted and is willing to share their stories, contact editor D'Ann Lawrence White at dann.white@patch.com.

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