With unprecedented times in 2020, causing financial, personal, and emotional hardships—substance abuse has increased substantially.
In particular, the opioid crisis became worse in Florida due to COVID-19.
A significant component of opioid abuse is prescription drugs, which can become an afterthought due to more dangerous alternatives, such as heroin and fentanyl.
According to the National Insitute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), “2018 data shows that every day, 128 people in the United States die after overdosing on opioids. The misuse of and addiction to opioids—including prescription pain relievers, heroin, and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl—is a serious national crisis that affects public health as well as social and economic welfare. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the total “economic burden” of prescription opioid misuse alone in the United States is $78.5 billion a year, including the costs of healthcare, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and criminal justice involvement.”
Read on to find out how to fight prescription opioid abuse in Florida. Also, how to get help for opioid abuse in South Florida.
Safe Storage and Drug Take Backs in Florida
Besides doctors, the most common way people obtain prescription drugs is through friends and family. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Most people who abuse prescription opioid drugs get them for free from a friend or relative – but those at highest risk of overdose are as likely to get them from a doctor’s prescription.”
Based on the 2019 Florida Medical Examiners Commission Interim Drug Report:
- “3,379 individuals (1 percent increase, 26 more than 2018) died with one or more prescription drugs in their system. The drugs were identified as either the cause of death or merely present in the decedent. These drugs may have also been mixed with illicit drugs and/or alcohol.
- 1,975 individuals (9 percent increase, 158 more than 2018) died with at least one prescription drug in their system that was identified as the cause of death. These drugs may have been mixed with other prescription drugs, illicit drugs, and/or alcohol.”
Tips on how to fight prescription opioid abuse include:
- Safe Storage: Either have your medication in a locked medicine cabinet, lockbox, or a safe. Keep them out of sight if you fear someone else may take them without you knowing. Apply this while traveling as well, as hotels, for instance, have locked boxes to use to protect prescription medication and other items.
- Don’t flush them in the toilet: To avoid possible contamination of the water supply, please do not flush unused or expired prescription medication.
- Drug Take-Back Programs for Safe Disposal: Florida has hundreds of take-back programs. They are for getting rid of unwanted prescription drugs and decreases the likelihood of someone abusing the medications if they get into the wrong hands.
Google provides a map of safe disposable sites. First, go to Recovery Together. From there, click Florida, and you will see various places to dispose of your medication.
For example, parts of Southeast Florida will look like this:
Source: Recover Together
Common disposable sites include Walgreens, CVS, and police stations. Double-check with Recovery Together to ensure they’ll take your unwanted drugs.
How to Get Help for Prescription Opioid Abuse in South Florida
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Contact On Call Treatment FL, a South Florida drug rehab—available 24 Hours, 7 days a week, call us NOW 1-(855)-492-1515.