An interim report released by the Florida Medical Examiners Commission on Thursday reveals that more Floridians are dying from the abuse and overuse of prescription drugs. According to the report, made public by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), during the January through June 2010 period there were approximately 89,800 deaths in Florida and of those, 4,150 individuals were found to have died with one or more prescription drugs in their system.
The Report revealed that, occurrences of Oxycodone (10.9 percent) and Hydrocodone (4.1 percent) increased in the first six months of 2010 when compared to the last six months of 2009. Also, deaths caused by Oxycodone (63 more than July-December 2009) and Hydrocodone (10 more than July-December 2009) increased.
The report indicates the four most frequently occurring drugs found in deceased persons were Ethyl Alcohol (1,831), all Benzodiazepines (1,700 including 986 Alprazolam occurrences), Oxycodone (1,117) and Cocaine (603). The drugs that caused the most deaths were Oxycodone, all Benzodiazepines (with Alprazolam accounting for the majority of the deaths), Methadone, Ethyl Alcohol, and Cocaine.
“It is no longer just illegal narcotics like cocaine and heroin being bought and sold on our streets. Drug dealers have made legal narcotics a top-shelf product,” said Commissioner Gerald Bailey. “Even when used correctly by a prescribing physician, these are potent drugs. When abused, overused and mixed, they can become deadly.”
The four drugs that were the most lethal, meaning more than 50 percent of the deaths were caused by the drug when the drug was found, were Heroin (83.3 percent), Methadone (75.5 percent), Oxycodone (64 percent), and Fentanyl (52.5 percent). Heroin continues to be the most lethal drug named in the report; however, occurrences decreased by 40 percent and deaths caused by Heroin also decreased by 40.5 percent over the last half of 2009.
The Report reveals that deaths caused by Methadone and Cocaine declined by 1.2 percent and 11.3 percent, respectively, compared to the last six months of 2009.
Prescription drugs continued to be found more often than illicit drugs in both lethal and non-lethal levels during the first part of this year. Prescription drugs account for 81 percent of all drug occurrences in this report when Ethyl Alcohol is excluded.
The Florida Medical Examiners Commission 2010 Interim Report of Drugs Identified in Deceased Persons is available on the FDLE Web site at www.fdle.state.fl.us.
