Florence Snyder
When Gov. Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi finally got around to talking about Florida’s opioid crisis, the hot air was suffocating.
In parts of Florida, opioids have overtaken homicides and DUIs as a cause of very premature and utterly unnecessary death. That is not breaking news to anyone who has been paying even a little attention. In a time when reporters are in short supply, almost every newspaper in Florida has made a noble, front-page attempt to assess the grievous impact of the opioid epidemic on their local communities.
The truth is out there, along with plenty of supporting data. Much of it comes from Palm Beach County, where “sober homes,” operated by insurance fraudsters and human traffickers, have proliferated like pythons in the Everglades. A relentless newsroom at The Palm Beach Post prodded the community to confront the mounting death toll, and to come up with evidence-based strategies and solutions.
And that’s exactly what the community did.
There’s a grand jury report full of strategies and solutions courtesy of Bondi’s hand-picked pill mill czar Dave Aronberg. There’s a Sober Homes Task Force Report. There’s a Heroin Task Force trying hard to get a second vote for a good plan of action that starts with joining states like Maryland, Massachusetts and Virginia in acknowledging opioid addiction as a public health emergency that can be significantly ameliorated by public health professionals.
But who cares what an army of experts and affected citizens and taxpayers think?
Not Scott, whose brother’s unspecified addiction “taught” him that “In the end, it’s always going to come down to that individual and that family is going to have to deal with this issue.”
Not Bondi, who brings to President Donald Trump‘s Opioid Task Force insights such as “No short-term fix is going to help this problem,” as if anybody on earth had suggested a “short-term fix.”
Scott and Bondi will be sending a multiagency Kabuki Theater Touring Company around the state to hold “workshops” and “generate ideas.” That news did not go down well in Palm Beach County, where beleaguered taxpayers, addicts struggling to recover, and grieving families of the dead are stocking up on torches, pitchforks and rotten tomatoes.
Excellent ideas are all over the place. It’s leadership that’s in short supply.
8 comments
Kelly Corredor
April 12, 2017 at 3:38 pm
Thank you for your insightful piece. I sent this email this morning to our legislative leaders:
Dear Mr. Speaker and Senate President:
My name is Kelly Corredor, and I am an activist in Jacksonville, Florida.
I watched Tuesday’s “Opioid Epidemic” press conference with Governor Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi.
There is no need for local workshops on our state’s opioid crisis. Workshops have been happening in Duval, Orange, Palm Beach, and Manatee Counties for well over a year. Recommendations have been made. Possible solutions and strategies are abundant.
Please help save state officials a trip and our taxpayer money. Halt the workshops. Enough is enough.
I am going to be bold, because you are bold.
Here are your people’s needs:
1. We need Governor Rick Scott to Declare a State of Emergency to Address Florida’s Opioid-Related Poisoning Crisis, an order similar to ZIKA – whatever you can do to assist would be greatly appreciated.
2. We need immediate authorization of an additional $27M in state funds (above and beyond any proposed state budget) to support the Department of Children and Families’ immediate implementation of the proposals in its State Targeted Response (STR) grant application to the federal government. Such dollar amount matches the federal government’s anticipated allocation of federal funds to help address our state’s opioid crisis during the upcoming year. However, those federal monies, alone, are not nearly enough for a State that has not expanded Medicaid and has no state law mandating insurers provide robust mental health coverage. So while the federal government money may be “icing” in other states, here, in Florida, we don’t even have a cake to put it on.
3. We need Governor Scott to instruct the Department of Health and the Department of Children and Families to do their jobs (and let them act).
We voted you into office to lead.
If you lead, then your people will get to work.
Respectfully,
Kelly Corredor
Kristine Braunstein
April 12, 2017 at 4:14 pm
Well said!!!!
No leadership…just blah,blah, blah!
Janet Colbert
April 12, 2017 at 5:06 pm
You are exactly right. AG Pam Bondi touting that she closed down all the pill mills in Florida has hurt Florida. The problem is not over. The latest ME report shows oxycodone deaths increased by 20.2%. Yet, when a reporter brought up HB 557 limiting opiate prescribing in the acute phase to 5 days Governor Scott didin’t seem he knew of it. Not solving the probem has gotten us where we are today:Florida #1 for new HIV cases, escalation of heroin (8 of 10 heroin addicts start with the prescription opiate), deaths continue to escalate out of control. Stop running for office and actually address the problem. Institute the CDC guidelines into law would be a good start. It’s not just those “20 year olds” the age group with the highest number of deaths is over 65. There term for them is kinder they become dependent on the drug instead of “drug addict”. Same result they’re all dying.
Kendra
April 12, 2017 at 5:50 pm
Good article, although I wish it were a bit longer. Basically, I read an article yesterday about how Bondi and Scott are pushing the legislature for “tougher penalties” (and this was coming of the heels of seeing that ridiculous Lake County Sheriff’s video), and I wanted to throw both of these nitwits off a cliff. Yes, the old “lock ’em up and throw away the key” strategy. It’s worked so well in the past! And it surely doesn’t destroy families and communities, and it’s by no means the most ridiculously expensive way of addressing the issue! /sarc
These two morons have no idea what they’re talking about. Hell, Scott was the idiot who balked about creating a prescription drug monitoring program when he first took office; he’s in the pocket of PHRMA and doesn’t give two wits about opioid addiction.
Having worked in the field for several years (well, as an attorney for a national treatment provider), I find this deliberate ignorance, and the pretentious-yet-empty kind of nonsense that Scott and Bondi are peddling, to be utterly maddening. As you say, good ideas are everywhere. These nitwits simply refuse to listen.
Julia Negron
April 12, 2017 at 7:10 pm
‘Workshops” – seems like it’s window dressing. Until we move squarely in the direction of harm reduction the problem won’t get fixed.
Dear Governor Scott:
We are deeply disappointed by the continued failure to recognize the opioid crisis for what it is, a public health emergency. Florida loses more than ten people a day to overdose deaths. These deaths are preventable. These people matter. These lives are worth saving. Declaring a public health emergency would open the doors funding to treat addiction and help reduce accidental overdose – medical conditions requiring a public health response.
Our emergency rooms, first responders and medical examiners are stretched to the limit. You have the power to declare this an emergency.
Last December 2016, a coalition of stakeholders issued a report outlining positive solutions; this report was spearheaded by The Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association and the Florida Behavioral Health Association and included participation by:
Emergency Management Services
Florida Association of Counties
Florida Association of Health Plans
Florida Catholic Conference
Florida Professional Firefighters
Florida Hospital Association
Florida League of Cities
Florida Police Benevolent Association
Florida Police Chief’s Association
Florida Sheriff’s Association
Florida Fraternal Order of Police
Suncoast Harm Reduction Project
The report concluded with practical next steps for Florida which included expanded funding and access to Medication Assisted Treatment, expanded access for communities and families to the overdose reversal drug Naloxone (Narcan) and expanded targeted treatment capacity to ensure treatment is readily available.
As for the wall of law enforcement personnel behind you, we cannot incarcerate our way out of this problem. We do not agree with expanding mandatory minimum sentencing as expressed in current pending legislation (HB477/SB150) without amendments allowing judge’s discretion in sentencing. What we learned from the increased penalties of the “crack epidemic” is that longer, tougher sentences and mandatory minimums did more harm than good and disproportionately affected families of color though whites and people of color use drugs at similar rates. We also believe tougher penalties will add violence and danger to the community as well as increased risk to law enforcement as has been proven repeatedly.
We are urgently calling for health-oriented strategies to stop the irresponsible waste of dollars and resources. In Florida prison spending continues to rise, while spending on addiction treatment is gutted.
We implore you to have the Surgeon General declare a public health emergency, issue a standing order for statewide Naloxone access and have the state provide treatment funding to save Florida lives. Addictive illness is treatable, and overdose is preventable. Please, put the necessary resources toward addressing this crisis.
The eyes of the country are focused on Florida, do the right thing.
Sincerely,
Suncoast Harm Reduction Project
Sarasota / Manatee counties
[email protected]
Gaynelle Gosselin
April 13, 2017 at 9:50 am
A task force convened by State Attorney Dave Aronberg has been working diligently for over a year. The findings have been presented, and recommendations have been made. The last thing we need is more talk. We need action. We need the declaration of a public health emergency to make resources available to act upon the recommendations that have already been proposed.
Maureen
April 13, 2017 at 10:57 am
Dear Mr. Speaker and Senate President:
My name is Maureen, and I am an activist in Fort Lauderdale, FL. More importantly, I am a mother of a young adult son who suffers from an addictive illness, specifically opioid addiction. He is one of many citizens who have fallen victim to the ongoing legal over-prescribing of opioids by Florida licensed providers (MD/DO/ARNP/PA)
…
I watched Tuesday’s “Opioid Epidemic” press conference with Governor Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi.
There is no need for local workshops on our state’s opioid crisis. Workshops have been happening in Duval, Orange, Palm Beach, and Manatee Counties for well over a year. Recommendations have been made. Possible solutions and strategies are abundant.
Please help save state officials a trip and our taxpayer money. Halt the workshops. Enough is enough.
I am going to be bold, because you are bold.
Here are your people’s needs:
1. We need Governor Rick Scott to Declare a State of Emergency to Address Florida’s Opioid-Related Poisoning Crisis, an order similar to ZIKA – whatever you can do to assist would be greatly appreciated. Having workshops around the state is a fiscally irresponsible solution. Task Forces, Coalitions, Grand Jury Reports, Action Teams, Town Halls and a multitude of other “talk” sessions have been conducted through out our state in many counties for more than 3 years. Solutions have been recommended and published. We need ACTION to save lives and prevent further destruction of our communities and families.
2. We need immediate authorization of an additional $27M in state funds (above and beyond any proposed state budget) to support the Department of Children and Families’ immediate implementation of the proposals in its State Targeted Response (STR) grant application to the federal government. Such dollar amount matches the federal government’s anticipated allocation of federal funds to help address our state’s opioid crisis during the upcoming year. However, those federal monies, alone, are not nearly enough for a State that has not expanded Medicaid and has no state law mandating insurers provide robust mental health coverage. So while the federal government money may be “icing” in other states, here, in Florida, we don’t even have a cake to put it on.
3. We need Governor Scott to instruct the Department of Health and the Department of Children and Families to do their jobs (and let them act). This is a “medical” crisis and must be treated the same as any other medical condition. To do that, we need the medical community, the very community that was not present at the press conference.
It’s time for the State of Florida to do the right thing by upholding a mission it is charged with:
“The Florida Department of Health works to protect, promote & improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county, & community efforts.”
Please note that this statement includes ALL people. It does not exclude those with addictive illnesses.
Maureen
April 13, 2017 at 11:05 am
Please review the still unanswered letter to the FL Surgeon General, Celeste Philip MD and to Governor Rick Scott from SEFRA. Why have we not received an answer?
Also, yesterday’s press conference was not only a disaster, but highly insulting to 100’s of 1,000’s of Floridians. Conducting a press conference about the opioid epidemic without the medical community is a clear display the need for addiction education at every level of our government. This is a HEALTH emergency and nothing less. Until the medical community steps up to the plate, the morbidity and mortality will rage on. More talk about this problem, that includes ongoing legally prescribed opioids, will do nothing. We have had Task Forces, Coalitions, Grand Jury Reports for the past 3 years or more. We need ACTION from the recommendations and we need action now! Calling this what it is, a public health emergency is the right thing to do.
In addition, please explain to me why a Medicare patient arriving at the ER with an opioid overdose and/or withdraw gets “admitted” but a 35 year arriving with an opioid overdose and/or withdraw does not? We need our hospital industry to answer that question and ensure the public that JCAHO standards are being met, Mental Health Parity is being met, and the Patient Bill of Rights is being met for ALL patients.
The mission of the FL DOH: “The Florida Department of Health works to protect, promote & improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county, & community efforts.” Please notice that this says ALL patients. It does not exclude Floridians suffering from an addictive illness. It says ALL patients! Yet, our government leaders, as evidenced by the press conference yesterday, continue to jeopardize the health and safety of millions of Floridians suffering from an addictive illness. Law enforcement does not TREAT health maladies. The medical community does. Allowing the medical community to remain in prejudicial treatment standards is absolutely unacceptable to the people of Florida and should be unacceptable to ALL elected or appointed officials.
Also, please let us know why when a Medicare patient arrives at our ER’s with an legal opioid overdose, they are admitted and treated – yet a young 35 year old arriving on an illegal opioid overdose is dismissed and treated with very different standards of care. They are BOTH OPIOID OVERDOSES. Federal and state law REQUIRE any and all “drug poisonings” to be treated! Nope, “medical decision making prejudices” all day every causing this man made physician controlled legally prescribed narcotic epidemic to rage on. And please report the data showing the massive amounts (at least 2 times that of all illegal drugs) of #Medicare overdoses. Maybe then we can focus on the FDA approved drug and its approved adverse effect of addiction and overdose (READ THE LABEL) rather than on patient behaviors – approved as safe by the FDA.
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