Growing Prescription Drug Problem in Florida Prompts New Monitoring Program

There is an ongoing problem in Florida, the state is the leading destination for the illicit procurement of prescription drugs – for which most consumers do not have a prescription. The question that law and policy makers continue to ask is whether or not a monitoring program can thwart the problem.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement released a report showing data that the 1,185 deaths in the state in 2009 were caused by oxycodone. These figures represent a 26 percent increase from the prior year and a 249 percent increase from 2005.

The deaths are divided according to counties within the state. Data shows that the hardest hit counties last year were Pinellas and Pasco, with the total number of deaths hitting 197. This district also claims the lead for the number of methadone deaths at 117 and deaths as a result of hydrocodone at 45.

Oxycodone is not the only prescription drug abused in the state and drug deaths overall as a result of such activities hit 2,488 last year. While this figure was climbing, the number of deaths as a result of illegal drugs was declining. Heroin deaths, for instance, have decreased by 20 percent and cocaine deaths by a little more than 18 percent.

This growing trend of prescription drug deaths appears to have no end in sight, forcing lawmakers to take a hard look at what needs to change in the system. The state recently passed a law to establish a prescription drug monitoring program which would collect information on drugs dispensed in the state. Will it be enough to turn the tide for so many Floridians at risk?