Florida’s attorney general brings the fight against opioids to Bradenton
Florida was ground zero for the opioid epidemic, and it could serve as a model for recovery around the nation, according to state officials.
Gov. Ron DeSantis created the Statewide Task Force on Opioid Abuse with an executive order last year. Chaired by Attorney General Ashley Moody, the task force held its fifth meeting at Manatee Memorial Hospital on Monday afternoon.
“I commend Manatee County,” Moody said. “They have come from being a county where they didn’t have enough room in the morgue for all those who overdosed on these deadly drugs, to fighting back with proactive and aggressive measures.”
When asked about her takeaways from the previous four meetings, Moody said it was crucial that all first responders have access to Narcan or a similar product, allowing them to reverse overdoses.
“Is that the entire answer? Is that the solution? No,” Moody said. “But in terms of bringing down the death toll, in terms of giving people a chance to get the help and recovery they need, that seems to be a major component in this fight.”
She also highlighted the need for community outreach and education, pointing to an informational website, doseofrealityfl.com.
Opioids include prescription pills, patches and liquids, such as hydrocodone or codeine cough syrup. The term also describes illegal drugs, such as heroin, and fighting opioid addiction would require allies at the national level, Moody said, pointing to U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan.
Buchanan said he introduced two successful bills to combat the opioid epidemic. The Fentanyl Sanctions Act penalizes drug manufacturers in China when they knowingly send synthetic opioids to traffickers and criminal operations, according to Buchanan’s website.
The STOP Act toughened the screening of shipments to the United States, with the intention of intercepting synthetic drugs.
More than 60 people attended the meeting on Monday afternoon, including law enforcement officers, physicians and employees from county and state agencies. They discussed education, prevention and treatment.
Experts said communities need to educate their residents about the dangers of opioids, both legal and illegal. There was a need to meet high-risk people at community agencies, hospitals, jails and wherever else they might be.
Several people highlighted the use of technology in monitoring the epidemic. Data could be used to track the rate of prescriptions in a certain industry or geographical area, helping communities to pinpoint and help their most affected neighborhoods.
The group considered doctors and their role in curbing the problem. Doctors should screen their patients and be mindful or whether someone needs an opioid prescription, an alternative treatment or help with an existing addiction, the speakers said.
Manatee Memorial Hospital administers alternatives such as Tylenol or ketamine when possible. As a result, the emergency department saw a 63 percent decrease in opioid prescriptions over the last two years, said Kevin DiLallo, chief executive officer of the Manatee Healthcare System.
He said the program, Alternative to Opioids (ALTO), began about three years ago.
“Right after 2016, when we realized the epidemic was out of control and out of everyone’s hands,” he said.
The task force also received an update from its vice chair, Seminole Sheriff Dennis Lemma, who called for greater sanctions against local drug dealers and large corporations, which both profit from the epidemic.
Lemma said there should be stricter penalties against people who sell drugs near a treatment facility. And when someone is revived during an overdose, the seller might avoid a murder charge, but dealers should still be charged with culpable negligence, he continued.
“This is not a situation of trying to make bad people good, but rather sick people well,” he said. “That does not extend to the people who are actually selling drugs. These are bad people.”
This story was originally published February 24, 2020 at 4:53 PM.