Opioid Trends in Florida
There is an opioid epidemic occurring in the United States and one of the states most affected by it is Florida. Florida ranks 17th among all states for the highest rate of drug overdose deaths, with most of those deaths due to opioids. Florida consistently has drug overdose rates that are higher than average in the United States.
Hydrocodone addiction is a serious problem in the United States, with 2.3% of the population misusing the drug in 2017. The abuse of Vicodin is thought to be attributed to its availability, due to the high level of prescriptions that are written for it each year. Despite a year to year decrease in dispensing (-8.69%), hydrocodone was still the most prescribed drug in Florida in 2018.
Florida’s Response to the Epidemic
In response to opioid abuse in Florida, the state has developed several opioid laws to monitor opioid prescriptions and control how many opioids are prescribed each year. The Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) requires reporting on opioid prescriptions and the Pill Mill Law on Opioid Prescribing and Utilization regulates opioid prescriptions. Despite the success of these changes, the Florida opioid overdose death rate continues to increase. On July 1, 2018, Governor Rick Scott signed into law new requirements for healthcare providers to further limit the prescription of opioids. Under the new law, physicians are only allowed to prescribe opioids for three days.