Fentanyl Overdose Deaths Surging In FL; AG Says Worst Is Yet To Come

FLORIDA — A surge in overdose deaths associated with the drug fentanyl, including 19 overdoses over a four-day span in rural Gasden County in northwest Florida, has prompted the governor's office to issue a statewide safety advisory on the dangers of this synthetic opioid.

First Lady Casey DeSantis, joined by Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, Department of Children and Families Secretary Shevaun Harris, Florida Department of Law Enforcement Acting Commissioner Mark Glass and Gadsden County Sheriff Morris Young, held a roundtable discussion Thursday to discuss ways to get the message out to the public about the dangers of fentanyl, which is similar to morphine but is 50 to 100 times more potent.

fentanyl is a prescription drug used to treat severe and chronic pain. But the drug is also produced and sold illegally, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The illegally produced form of fentanyl most often associated with overdoses is made in labs, usually in China, and sold as a powder, dropped onto blotter paper, put in eye droppers and nasal sprays or made into pills that look like other prescription opioids.

To increase their profits, drug dealers frequently mix fentanyl with heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA (ecstasy) without the drug user realizing it. It takes very little fentanyl to produce a high.

According to the Florida Department of Health, fatal overdoses involving fentanyl have nearly doubled in Florida since 2018 due to it being combined with heroin, cocaine and even marijuana without the user’s knowledge.

See related stories:

• New, Deadly Synthetic Drug 'ISO' Concerns Hillsborough County Sheriff
• Drug Busts Takes 435,000 Doses Of Fentanyl Off the Streets
• This Drug Causes More Overdose Deaths Than Any Other In U.S.

To tackle the immediate crisis, the DCF gave Gasden County 200 Narcan kits to treat overdoses and will send peer-support coordinators to the county. The Narcan kits contain an aerosol spray containing the opioid antagonist naloxone that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose.

Emergency responders throughout the state can also obtain free Narcan through the Florida Department of Health's Helping Emergency Responders Obtain Support (HEROS) program.

And earlier this year, Senate Bill 544 was signed into law, giving Floridians the ability to go directly to pharmacists to obtain Narcan to have on hand in case of an emergency. Previously, Floridians were required to go through law enforcement to get Narcan to treat overdoses.

In the meantime, an FDLE strike force will continue to target fentanyl dealers in northwest Florida. In the first three days of operation, the strike force recovered almost four grams of fentanyl, enough to kill nearly 2,000 Floridians. Four out of every 10 pills seized by law enforcement contain a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl.

Florida Has 2nd-Most Overdose Deaths In U.S.

Florida has the second-most drug overdose deaths in the country, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics. While fentanyl wasn't responsible for all of Florida's record 8,104 overdose deaths in 2021, the FDLE believes it's responsible for a majority. The only state with a greater number of overdose deaths last year was California with 10,936 deaths. In comparison, other states with large populations had nearly half as many overdose deaths. Texas reported 4,842 deaths in 2021 and New York 2,998 deaths in 2021.

“Too many individuals are losing their lives because of illicit drugs and substance abuse,” said Casey DeSantis. “Fentanyl overdose is the leading cause of death in the nation for individuals ages 18 to 45. It is primarily being manufactured in China and pouring across our southern border. It is imperative that Floridians know the risks and understand that just 2 milligrams can be lethal. Stopping drug dealers and helping Floridians overcome the challenges of addiction and preventing overdose deaths is a significant priority for us all.”

“More than 6,150 people (in the U.S.) died from overdoses involving fentanyl and fentanyl analogs in 2020," Ladapo said. "While substance use disorder is a chronic disease that requires clinical oversight, the fentanyl crisis requires us to be all hands on deck across communities, and that is exactly what we are doing."

Young said he's grateful for the quick response by the state.

“For Gadsden County to have that number in such a short span, we were afraid that we’d wake up in a week’s time and have 30 to 40, 50 people dead," he said. "That’s a lot of folks for Gadsden County. We only have 46,000 people here."

Legislative Action

Glass said DeSantis signing House Bill 95 into law will make a major dent in Florida drug trade.

The bill, which goes into effect Oct. 1, increases the penalties for selling and distributing fentanyl. It increases the mandatory minimum sentence for trafficking fentanyl from three to seven years for 4-14 grams and from 15 to 20 years for 14-28 grams.

“When FDLE conducts drug investigations, our goal is always to take down the entire organization," Glass said. "We thank Gov. DeSantis for his leadership and for signing HB 95, keeping drug dealers in prison longer and ending their drug-dealing days.”

Protecting Kids

Motivated by the rise in overdose deaths involving fentanyl, last month Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody released an informational toolkit for parents to protect children from digital drug dealers during summer break when kids often spend more time online.

"Sadly, we are reminded almost daily that one pill laced with fentanyl can kill," Moody said. "I hope this resource can help families better understand the risks associated with drug use and avoid tragedy.”

The Fast Facts on Fentanyl Toolkit highlights how drug dealers use social media to sell illegal drugs, and warns that these drugs may contain deadly amounts of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids.

The toolkit also delves into the most popular social media applications, what the average age group is for each app and a detailed list of emojis used as codes in online conversations regarding illegal drug deals.

Parents can download the toolkit in English here and in Spanish here.

A New Threat

While the state continues battling fentanyl overdose deaths, Moody said the worst is yet to come.

She said nitazenes, all synthetic opioids, are an emerging threat that could outpace fentanyl overdose deaths in Florida.

In April, Moody filed an emergency order adding eight nitazenes to the list of Schedule I controlled substances in Florida. The drugs have no medical use and have been linked to at least 15 deaths in Florida since 2020. Nitazenes may appear in powder, liquid and counterfeit prescription pills forms.

The emergency order makes it a felony for anyone to possess, sell, manufacture or deliver any of these eight drugs are up to 100 times more potent than fentanyl. Moody plans to follow up during the 2023 legislative session to make her emergency order a state law.

Forensic labs in Florida first began identifying cases of nitazenes in 2020, during which 13 overdose cases involving nitazenes were discovered.

In 2021, that number rose to 171 cases and, this year, Florida is on target to double that number.

"Not only are we seeing an increase in the number of nitazene cases identified in Florida, but we also suspect these substances are being mixed with more common street drugs and sold to unsuspecting users," Moody said. "Some nitazenes are many times more lethal than fentanyl, and we must make sure they do not become more prevalent in our state, or I am afraid we will see overdose deaths skyrocket.”

Moody also developed the Dose of Reality Florida website to serve as a one-stop resource to obtain information about the dangers of opioid misuse, how to receive support for addiction and where to safely dispose of unused prescription drugs.

Floridians struggling with substance use disorders can click here to get assistance.