Success in Florida

Miami, October 25th, 2012: Attached an article published in yesterday's Sun Sentinel highlighting the significant decrease in prescription narcotics overdose deaths as a result of the crackdown on pain clinics and the availability of the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. Deaths related to oxycodone, the widely abused prescription painkiller, dropped by 17.7 percent in 2011. Overall, prescription drug overdoses fell by slightly more than 6 percent. But despite the decline in deaths due to painkillers, overall drug-related deaths increased by 134 last year, to 9,135.The increase was largely due to more fatalities linked to cocaine, alcohol and benzodiazepines, normally prescribed for anxiety or insomnia. Florida Attorney General Bondi said that she was "shocked" at how quickly the reforms had reduced oxycodone deaths. The new laws were in effect for only about six months last year. And the state prescription drug monitoring database was operational for only about three months. Finally, we are making progress and I thank all of you who work so hard to make our great State of Florida a safer place to live for us and our children. Yours Bernd =============================================================================================== Prescription drug overdoses fall in Florida October 24, 2012|By Kathleen Haughney, Tallahassee Bureau TALLAHASSEE -- Deaths related to oxycodone, the widely abused prescription painkiller, dropped by 17.7 percent in 2011, state officials announced today. The drop, they say, is a direct result of the state's battle to root out pain clinics and crack down on pill pushers. Overall, prescription drug overdoses fell by slightly more than 6 percent. "This is a milestone," said Attorney General Pam Bondi. "We know we have a long way to go. We have so far to go in this fight against drugs, but these numbers to us in such a short time are truly remarkable." Still, Wednesday's report by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement was a jarring reminder of the severity of Florida's overdose problem. It showed that, despite the decline in deaths due to painkillers, overall drug-related deaths increased by 134 last year, to 9,135. The increase was largely due to more fatalities linked to cocaine, alcohol and benzodiazepines, normally prescribed for anxiety or insomnia. FDLE Commissioner Guy Bailey acknowledged that the state's effort to target oxycodone and other painkillers sold through "pill mills" may have had the effect of diverting addicts to other drugs. "I will tell you there is speculation that it is a supply and demand issue, that some of the addicts, if you will, that we've blocked from the oxycodone have turned to these other drugs in the place, but we don't know that," he said. "At this point, it's speculation." In March 2011, Bondi and Gov. Rick Scott created strike force teams, partly funded by a federal grant, to target prescription-drug dealers in "pill mills," amid reports that Florida doctors prescribed more oxycodone than any other state. That spring, lawmakers also passed a comprehensive measure to crack down on pain clinics and the following fall, pharmacists began logging prescriptions for most controlled substances in a state database. Bondi said that she was "shocked" at how quickly the reforms had reduced oxycodone deaths. The new laws were in effect for only about six months last year. And the state prescription drug monitoring database was operational for only about three months. However, the oft-repeated statistic that seven people per day are dying of prescription-drug overdoses still holds true, Bailey said. Though there has been a decrease, it hasn't been quite enough to get the number down by even one person. "There was a very slight downtick," he said. "It's a little less than seven." Added Dr. Jan Garavaglia, the medical examiner for Orange and Osceola Counties: "To me, [the report] just shows there's still a lot of deaths from prescription drugs." The report showed that benzodiazapenes, like Xanax, were found to have at least contributed to the death of 1,879 people, and were the principal cause of death of 39 of them. Easier to obtain than oxycodone, the medications are increasingly showing up mixed in a cocktail with other drugs. Bailey said the state hasn't been "flag flying" on benzodiazapenes the way agents have been highlighting oxycodone abuse. Bondi said that she is hopeful that next year, when the laws have been in place longer, the numbers will go down even further. She said that her office, combined with law enforcement, is also working on more prevention programs.