AG Moody ‘cautiously optimistic’ at declining number of opioid-related deaths

Attorney General Ashley Moody presents drug-related death statistics at a news conference in Tampa on July 9, 2024, joined by Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass (left) and Longwood Deputy Mayor Matt Morgan (right). (Screenshot via Florida Attorney General YouTube channel)

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Attorney General Ashley Moody is “cautiously optimistic” following the release of a report showing fewer drug-related deaths in the first half of 2023.

Alcohol was the drug most frequently found in those who died from intoxicants in the period, with 2,957 instances, a 5% drop from the year before, followed by fentanyl, with 2,822 instances, a 10% drop.

“This is good news, I am cautiously optimistic we are heading in the right direction,” Moody said, thanking Floridians for listening to those offering help to stay away from, or recover from, drugs.

“But we are still dealing with an incredible amount of deaths here in Florida, and the only way we can get back to some sort of normalcy is if folks recognize the crisis and take proactive steps to help themselves and their family members,” Moody said Tuesday during a news conference in Tampa announcing the 2023 interim Drugs Identified in Deceased Persons report.

Of the nearly 3,000 fentanyl-related deaths in the first six months of 2023, in 2,553 instances the opioid was accompanied by another drug.

People in the 35 to 50 age range were killed by fentanyl more than any other age range, followed by those older than 50.

Across all drugs there was a 7% decrease in deaths in the first half of 2023 compared to the first half of 2022, according to the report .

Mixing drugs

Mark Glass, commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, made a plea to parents to talk with their kids about how much fentanyl it takes to kill someone, which he said is equivalent to about 7 to 9 grains of table salt.

He warned against the tendency for fentanyl to be found in other drugs.

“These folks will take and cut other types of drugs with [fentanyl]. Heroin, cocaine, all that stuff is done, multiple things, to include cannabis,” Glass said. “They will put that stuff in everything now because it does give you an enhanced high. It also makes it cheaper.”

Although deaths from fentanyl and alcohol dropped, the report shows rises in deaths involving other substances, including ketamine , a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved anesthetic; xylazine , a veterinary tranquilizer; and chlordiazepoxide , used for therapy for people with alcohol withdrawal. The number of deaths from these substances was significantly lower than from alcohol and fentanyl.

Also joining Moody was Matt Morgan, deputy mayor of Longwood and a retired professional wrestler who is a recovering opioid addict.

Feud with federal initiatives

Moody reflected on the long-term trend, a rise in drug-related deaths since the 1980s and the beginning of the “war on drugs.”

The United States saw just over 6,000 deaths from drug poisoning in 1980, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . In 2023, the agency reported more than 105,000 drug overdose deaths nationwide.

Moody said the majority of fentanyl-related deaths involves trafficking from Mexico.

“I cannot say enough how important it is that we shut that flow down and stop that trade from the cartels coming into our nation,” Moody said.

She applauded Florida agencies for their efforts to prevent the flow of drugs, citing an effort to increase accessibility to Narcan and stopping people transporting drugs. She criticized federal enforcement of immigration laws.

“It is hard to discuss the death toll and the significance that is had on Florida without saying the tragedy that we are seeing in the lack of enforcement of the law at the border,” Moody said.

Moody has filed lawsuits against President Joe Biden, including a win against the president when she accused him of “aiding and abetting criminal cartels.”

Tuesday, she pleaded for the federal government to “just follow the law on the books.”

Action on the U.S.-Mexico border has been a point of contention, especially recently, among federal and state officials. Early this year, Biden agreed to a bipartisan border-control bill, but Republicans withdrew their support at the urging of Donald Trump.

“I’m not gonna lie to be standing here and talking about all the incredible programs and steps and resources and money and manpower that we’re throwing into this problem without saying, so much of this could have been avoided if we just had law enforced at the border,” Moody said.

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