Just this morning, the Sun-Sentinel, Broward County's major newspaper, published an article titled, "Oxycodone, Xanax Deaths Increase Dramatically In Broward, Report Shows."
This type of media coverage demonstrates how prevalent the prescription drug abuse problem is in the State of Florida, particularly Broward County. You better believe that this type of coverage will only add to the already heavy attention police officers give to this issue.
I will not be surprised if trafficking arrests increase now that Broward County has evidence that their prescription drug deaths have increased in Broward.
The deadly grip prescription drug abuse has on Broward County has gotten tighter.
Fatal overdoses linked to the painkiller oxycodone increased 57 percent in 2009 from the year prior while deaths blamed on the anti-anxiety drug alprazolam jumped 35 percent.
The same report notes an increased number of overdoses in Palm Beach County, but the changes are minimal to moderate.
"One of the tragedies in so many of these deaths is they are preventable," said Jim Hall, head of the Center for the Study and Prevention of Substance Abuse at Nova Southeastern University.
Although authorities say the problem touches every county in the state, the death toll remains most severe in Broward.
With 148 deaths counted in 2009, Broward leads the state in fatal overdoses of alprazolam, also known by the brand name Xanax, according to the report.
Oxycodone claimed 160 lives in Broward in 2009, the second-highest tally in the state, behind the St. Petersburgh area.
In Palm Beach County, oxycodone was linked to 129 fatal overdoses in that period – up 15 percent from 2008 -- and there were 86 fatal alprazolam overdoses, slightly up from 2008.
Authorities are quick to point out that alprazolam and oxycodone are among the most widely prescribed medications at South Florida pill mills, an industry that is still booming.
State drug czar Bruce Grant describes the scene as "an explosion of pain clinics" that was fueled by Florida's lack of a prescription drug monitoring program. The situation allowed doctors, pain clinics and drug users to operate unchecked for years.
Grant, however, expects the state's new monitoring program, approved by lawmakers last year, to start running by December.
Grant and other officials hope to find some relief not just in the prescription monitoring program but in what is happening with cocaine abuse patterns locally and nationwide.
Cocaine remains the second-most widely used illicit drug nationwide, behind marijuana, but overdose deaths linked to the white powder have been on a downward trend in recent years.
In 2005, Palm Beach County led the state in cocaine-related deaths with 197, which includes overdoses and cases where a person died from another cause but had the drug in their system. The county's total in 2009 was 126, a six-year low, according to the state report.
Broward also has seen a drop in cocaine-related deaths, logging 135 in 2009, the lowest in five years.
"The drug coming into South Florida is less pure, more adulterated," Hall noted. "
Cocaine has kind of fallen into the trap of the economic downfall."
I am a
criminal defense attorney who practices exclusively in Miami-Dade and Broward County. I represent clients charged with trafficking in prescription drugs, such as oxycodone, alprazolam, and hydrocodone.
If you or someone you know has been arrested for trafficking in prescription drugs,
call me to schedule a free consultation.