MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — Official statistics of opioid overdoses in Florida for 2018 have not been made public yet.
- Oklahoma reaches settlement in opioid case
- Opioids still affecting Florida in drug-related deaths
- Florida had 6,000 opioid-related deaths in 2017
The Oklahoma settlement announced on Tuesday will factor into Florida's case.
The state of Oklahoma reached a $270 million settlement with the company Purdue Pharma that produces the painkiller OxyContin, blamed in part for a local and national opioid crisis.
"This agreement is only the first step in our ultimate goal of ending this nightmarish epidemic. In the coming weeks, the team and I will continue preparing for the trial 24/7, where we intend to hold the other defendants in this case accountable for their role in creating the worst public health crisis our state and nation has ever seen," Attorney General Mike Hunter said.
Along with Oklahoma, opioids are still affecting Florida with more than 6,000 opioid-related deaths, an 8 percent increase from 2016 to 2017.
This is according to a Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s 2017 medical examiner’s report.
Opioids caused more than 4 thousand deaths in Florida, and almost 7,000 people died with one or more prescription drugs in their system in 2017.
Taking a closer look at Manatee County, which is one of the most affected areas nationwide, officials say they've seen progress mainly through counseling programs.
In February of this year, they reported unofficially there were 46 overdoses, an increase from 18 overdoses in 2018. The amount is lower than the 105 overdoses in February of 2017.
"We are only a quarter of where we were in 2016,” said Joshua Barnett Manatee County Health Care Services Manager. “We had 350 overdoses in 2018 compared to 1403 in 2016."
Barnett said while pill mills are down, the use of fentanyl which is more deadly increases the overdose risk.
He said it might be the cause of last month's uptick.