MIAMI.- Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) announced the third consecutive report recording a decrease in the number of drug-related deaths in the Sunshine State.
According to the announcement made on Tuesday, July 9, the 2023 interim report on drugs identified in deceased persons indicates that deaths caused by opioids and fentanyl decreased in the first six months of last year.
“In that time period, Florida experienced a 7% reduction in total drug-related deaths, while deaths linked to fentanyl and opioids each decreased by 10%.”
The news comes on the heels of a nationwide report highlighting that Florida leads the nation in fentanyl seizures.
In this regard, Moody said that “Florida authorities are leading the way in removing deadly Mexican fentanyl from our streets, and while the report is encouraging news, the death toll remains too high and the border too open.”
“That’s why we must continue to wage war on the opioid crisis on multiple fronts: on the streets, in addiction treatment centers, and in federal courts, where my attorneys are pushing back against Biden’s illegal immigration policies in an effort to stop the free flow of deadly drugs across our border.”
FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass said he was “working alongside our agents, local authorities, our legislators and our communities to reduce the number of drug deaths throughout Florida and make our communities safer and healthier.”
The attorney general has filed multiple legal challenges to force President Biden to follow federal immigration laws, close the U.S. southwest border and stop the flood of Mexican fentanyl entering the country and killing Americans.
More than 100,000 Americans die each year from drug overdoses, with the vast majority of those deaths due to fentanyl, the document noted.
While Moody has won multiple legal battles against Biden, the Biden administration continues to create new illegal policies that allow Mexican drug cartels to continue smuggling massive amounts of illicit fentanyl into the country, a news release from the attorney general’s office said.
The decline in total drug-related deaths is the largest on record in Florida since 2016.
In 2023, Florida authorities participated in 2,089 fentanyl seizure operations.
In June, Moody’s office in Volusia County filed charges against 39 members of a drug trafficking ring who were found to have seized enough fentanyl to kill at least half a million people, the report said.
This month, Attorney General Moody and Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd announced the arrest of 64 criminals involved in a massive fentanyl trafficking ring.
In this latest action, the Polk sheriff seized 742 grams of fentanyl, enough to kill more than 370,000 Floridians.
In October 2022, Attorney General Moody announced that Florida authorities had already seized enough fentanyl to kill the state’s entire population that year.
That report came after a drug bust in which the Polk Sheriff’s Office seized 11 pounds of drugs. The authorities’ action didn’t stop there; earlier that year, Moody announced another massive drug bust involving more than 50 pounds of fentanyl.
Just two milligrams of fentanyl is enough to kill an adult, and the deadly synthetic opioid is found in nearly every illicit substance sold on the black market, Moody warned in the report.
That’s why the attorney general created the “One Pill Can Kill” and “Fentanyl Quick Facts” webpages. These sites provide information about the threat of this deadly drug. Additionally, Moody asked that anyone struggling with substance abuse problems visit TreatmentAtlas.org to find treatment options in their area.
Against this backdrop, in May 2023, the Attorney General launched the “Helping Heroes” program to ensure that Florida first responders are equipped with naloxone, a medication that works as an antidote to the deadly effects of the drug when sprayed into the nose or injected.
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