drug overdoses

The law could result in methamphetamine dealers facing a death sentence if drugs they distribute kills someone.

The order targeted drugs known as nitazenes, which Moody’s office said have been linked since 2022 to at least 15 deaths in Florida, including five reported by the Pasco-Pinellas medical examiner.

In statehouses across the country, lawmakers have been considering and adopting laws on two fronts: reducing the risk to users and increasing the penalties for dealing fentanyl or mixing it with other drugs.

A new wave of opioid deaths, fueled by fentanyl, is raising old fears in Palm Beach County. Meantime, sheriff's office policy on naloxone is an outlier in the state.

According to Ocala police, investigations have shown the drugs responsible for many of the overdose deaths enter the U.S. from Mexico.

After a 26% increase in opioid overdoses in Florida over the previous year,. Project Opioid founder Andrae Bailey says the pandemic accelerated the real problem: the synthetic opioid fentanyl flooding the markets.

Overdose rates were on the rise before the COVID pandemic, but last year's lockdowns exacerbated the issue.

Officials say the pandemic and dealers who mix fentanyl with other drugs have contributed to the increase in overdose deaths in Florida.

A non-profit syringe needle exchange program in Palm Beach County says the pandemic has played a role in the spike in drug overdose deaths.

The CDC says hospitals saw a lot more emergency cases involving drug overdoses, as well as mental health crises and suicide attempts. Many emergency departments weren't ready.

Advocates say disruptions in care, job loss and increased stress and isolation due to the pandemic are fueling substance abuse problems.

A new study from the University of South Florida shows federal data on fatal overdose rates underestimates which drugs caused the deaths.The study looked…