Miami-Dade opioid deaths drop by nearly 100. Needle exchange may be the reason.
Since 2016, public health advocates in Miami-Dade County have led the state in confronting Florida’s opioid epidemic by starting a needle exchange that also widely distributed naloxone, a drug that counters overdoses, and getting it onto the streets.
22 Nov 2019Since 2016, public health advocates in Miami-Dade County have led the state in confronting Florida’s opioid epidemic by starting a needle exchange that also widely distributed naloxone, a drug that counters overdoses, and getting it onto the streets.
With the latest data, experts believe those efforts have saved nearly 100 lives in 2018 alone.
Opioid-related deaths in the county fell significantly last year, totaling 213. That’s down from 305 in 2017 and 321 in 2016, according to an analysis of the latest data collected by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Hansel Tookes, assistant professor at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine and principle director of its harm reduction research group, said he thinks the drop-off can be attributed to the IDEA Exchange, the needle exchange run by the research group. The harm reduction research group analyzed the FDLE data and grouped it to focus on deaths caused by all opioids.
