Florida and heroin have had a long history, with the last seven years being truly significant for heroin-related deaths.
The opioid crisis, in general, has reached incredible heights, calling for various efforts from both state and federal government to take action.
In Florida, heroin was always a threat but remained stable until 2011. It is hypothesized that the end of “pill mills” and overprescribing in 2011 lead to the use of heroin. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) theorizes the opioid crisis occurs in three waves. The first wave was opioid prescriptions, then heroin, and now we are currently in the third wave, which is fentanyl and other synthetic opioid drugs. Florida’s increase in heroin and heroin-related deaths coincide with this theory.
Read on to find out more about heroin in Florida, and how to get help for heroin addiction.
Florida and Heroin: The Rise in Overdose Deaths
The 2018 Florida Medical Examiners Report shows the heroin-related deaths from 2004 to 2018. Heroin-related deaths spiked in 2012-2013, around the same time, as the crackdown on the overprescribing of opioids, notably Oxycodone.
Source: 2018 Florida Medical Examiners Report
The data on a dotted-line graph shows the incredible increase:
Source: 2018 Florida Medical Examiners Report
In 2011, according to the Palm Beach Post, Rick Scott amongst many other politicians in Florida called for a drug prescription monitoring database. The main purpose of the database was to stop the overprescription and fraud of drugs, such as oxycodone.
According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), prescription rates in Florida for opioids went down, much like the rest of the nation.
Source: NIDA
However, despite opioid pain relievers reducing both in Florida and the country, overdose deaths started to increase.
Source: NIDA
A past report from the 2013 National Drug Threat Assessment by the DEA shows insight into why the switch from prescription drugs to heroin.
“Law enforcement and treatment officials throughout the country report that many heroin abusers began using the drug after having first abused prescription opioids. These abusers turned to heroin because it was cheaper and/ or more easily obtained than prescription drugs and because heroin provides a high similar to that of prescription opioids. According to treatment providers, many opioid addicts will use whichever drug is cheaper and/or available to them at the time. Several treatment providers report the majority of opioid addicts will eventually end up abusing heroin and will not switch back to another drug because heroin is highly addictive, relatively inexpensive, and more readily available. Those abusers who have recently switched to heroin are at higher risk for accidental overdose. Unlike with prescription drugs, heroin purity and dosage amounts vary, and heroin is often cut with other substances, all of which could cause inexperienced abusers to accidentally overdose.”
How bad were the pill mills in Florida? In 2013, it was still a threat despite the 2011 legislation for prescription monitoring programs, that 60% of law enforcement said controlled prescriptions were the greatest threat to Florida and the Caribbean.