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Peace & Justice Wednesday June 27 – The Florida Opioid Crisis

Written by on Saturday, June 23, 2018

This Wednesday we’ll talk to Bill Newton, Deputy Director of the Florida Consumer Action Network about the opioid crisis.

“According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, “overdose deaths, particularly from prescription drugs and heroin, have reached epidemic levels.”[3]:iii Nearly half of all opioid overdose deaths in 2016 involved prescription opioids.[1] From 1999 to 2008, overdose death rates, sales, and substance abuse treatment admissions related to opioid pain relievers all increased substantially.[4]  By 2015, there were more than 50,000 annual deaths from drug overdose, causing more deaths than either car accidents or guns.”

There were 2798 opioid deaths in Florida in 2016. Bill will talk about the FCAN campaign to distribute Narcan, improve treatment and take the profit out of drugs.

In the second half of our show we’ll talk to Tracy Pratt board member of Project 180 who is running for the Florida House of Representatives in District 71.  She’ll talk about her views on gun control, Project 180  and other topics.