Deaths from oxycodone overdose fell by nearly 18 percent in 2011 to 1,247. State officials attributed the drop to ramped up efforts over the past two years to crack down on pill mills and other steps to reduce the death toll from the popular and often abused painkiller.
Overall prescription drug deaths fell by 6.4 percent from the previous year, according to a Florida Department of Law Enforcement report released Wednesday.
The annual survey looks at medical examiner investigations into what drugs, if any, were present or responsible for 9,135 deaths investigated last year.
Other drugs however remained equally or more lethal in 2011. Heroin deaths rose about 18 percent to 62.
Meanwhile, hydrocodone and methadone deaths remained steady, accounting for about 1,000 deaths combined. Deaths caused by benzodiazepines increased by 13 percent while cocaine deaths rose by 7.7 percent.
Over the past two years, lawmakers have bolster efforts to combat prescription drug abuse, including high profile changes in 2011 to regulate pain clinics.
