JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Drug overdose deaths are starting to trend downwards in Florida according to provisional data from the CDC.
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For years drug overdose deaths have been trending up in Florida, but in 2022 the state saw a 2.6 percent decrease in drug overdose deaths compared to the previous year.
Melanie Brown-Woofter with the Florida Behavioral Health Association added data from the first half of 2022 published by the State Medical Examiners Commission reflects a similar trend.
“With both sources reporting a decrease we can look to that as solid data,” said Brown-Woofter.
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In Duval, CDC data shows a 1.5 percent decrease in overdose deaths in 2022.
One caveat in the data however, even though opioid caused deaths are also trending down statewide, Brown-Woofter noted fentanyl remains the main driver of drug overdose deaths.
“You know, we are hearing anecdotal reports that fentanyl is in almost every illicit drug on the street,” said Brown-Woofter.
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Brown-Woofter credits increased education and hundreds of millions in state and opioid settlement dollars as well as the wider availability of fentanyl test kits and overdose reversal drugs like Naloxone for helping put a dent in the overdose crisis.
“We are cautiously optimistic, but we still remain very concerned as to what the data will show when the full data set is available,” said Brown-Woofter.
Even accounting for the decrease reflected in the early data, 22 Floridians continue to lose their lives every day due to drug overdose.
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