Opioid Overdoses

Opioid-caused deaths fell by 42% from January 2025 to June 2025, and fentanyl-caused deaths fell 46%, according to an interim report released by the Florida Medical Examiners Commission.

Drug overdose deaths dropped bout 14% last year, according to preliminary government data. It was the third straight annual drop, making it the longest decline in decades.

A new AI-powered tech is showing law enforcement and public health leaders dangerous drugs entering their communities and predicting the drug wave.

Host Matthew Peddie and guests dig into the drop in drug deaths, hurricane season, the nationwide “No Kings” protests and heartwarming hero dogs.

The federal dollars will allow Florida Atlantic to focus on youth transitioning out of foster care, living in rural poverty or experiencing housing instability.

Experts say several things could be driving the decline. They include increased availability of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone, expanded addiction treatment and shifts in how people use drugs.

The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay launched a free weeklong program that medically assists overdose patients while they detox and transition towards consultation at a substance use clinic.

Hillsborough health officials offered up to five free boxes to people who stopped by tables set up outside their downtown Tampa office’s entrance.

Illegal supplies of fentanyl are being cut with xylazine, a powerful horse tranquilizer. Overdoses involving this veterinary sedative are growing nationally and now Florida officials are tracking the deaths.

The researchers found that between 2020 and 2022, the percentage of overdose deaths with evidence of smoking rose 74%. Meanwhile, the percentage of deaths with evidence of injection fell 29%.

As national distributors and pharmacies restricted the flow of painkillers in response to the opioid crisis, Publix did the opposite, according to a Tampa Bay Times/KFF Health News data analysis.

For the first time in 10 years, Central Florida counties saw a decrease in opioid overdose deaths.