Fentanyl caused deaths down in Glades, Hendry, and Lee counties ...

Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat that our country has ever faced

The number of deaths caused by fentanyl continues to drop in Florida.

Last year, the Florida Medical Examiners released its 2022 annual report. For the first time in 12 years, the report showed a small decrease of 3% in deaths caused by fentanyl. The Florida Medical Examiners recently issued its 2023 annual report. According to that report, the number of deaths caused by fentanyl in Florida was down approximately 12%.

On a local level, there was a decrease. In Glades, Hendry, and Lee counties, there was a 26% reduction in the combined data for those three counties.

This is welcome news. From 2003 to 2021, the number of deaths caused by fentanyl increased over 4,000%, reaching a high of 5,791 in 2021. The total decreased to 5,622 in 2022 and 4,962 in 2023. These decreases over the past two years are due to the combined efforts of law enforcement, prosecutors, and many members of the community, including treatment providers, medical professionals, public officials, and others who have pursued prevention and treatment strategies to address the opioid crisis.

The number of deaths is still too high, and it is critical that this issue continues to be one of our community’s top priorities. I know that it will be a focus of my office. Working with our law enforcement partners, my office will continue to prioritize the prosecutions of the drug trafficking organizations that manufacture and distribute fentanyl that causes deaths in our community. Those cases will include indictments of overseas companies and individuals who supply the precursor chemicals that are used to manufacture the fentanyl; prosecutions of drug traffickers whose distributions have caused deaths or serious bodily injury; and cases against medical professionals who have contributed to the opioid epidemic through the illegal distribution or dispensing of opioids.

These efforts have produced results. My office has more than doubled our number of fentanyl prosecutions over the past three fiscal years, and our law enforcement partners have seized over 80 million potentially lethal doses of fentanyl in those cases. When combined with the excellent work being done by sheriff’s offices, police departments, state attorney’s offices, the Office of Statewide Prosecution, FDLE, federal law enforcement, and other agencies in other cases, these types of enforcement actions are an important part of the strategy to protect our community from those who manufacture and distribute fentanyl.

Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat that our country has ever faced, and our work is far from over. My office is committed to continuing to work with our law enforcement partners and our community stakeholders in this effort and to build on the momentum that we have seen in the reduction in fentanyl caused deaths in Florida.

Roger Handberg is U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida.