Fentanyl-Caused Deaths Down 10% in Florida, 14% in Flagler, Putnam, and St. Johns: A U.S. Attorney’s Perspective

By Roger B. Handberg

Earlier this year, the Florida Medical Examiners Commission released its 2022 Annual Report. For the first time in 12 years, the report showed a small decrease of 3 percent in deaths caused by fentanyl. This month, the Commission issued its interim report for the first six months of 2023. According to that report, the number of deaths caused by fentanyl in Florida was down approximately 10 percent as compared to the same time period in 2022.




On a local level, there was also a decrease. Flagler, Putnam, and St. Johns Counties are part of Florida Medical Examiner District 23. When compared to the same time period in 2022, there was a 14 percent reduction in the combined data for those counties for the first six months of 2023.

This is a welcome trend after so many years of increases. The Medical Examiners Commission first included fentanyl-caused deaths in its 2003 annual report, reporting 124 deaths. Since then, the number of deaths caused by fentanyl in Florida has increased over 4,000 percent, reaching 5,622 in 2022.

Several factors have contributed to fentanyl’s terrible impact. Fentanyl is lethal in small doses. A potentially lethal dose can fit on the tip of a pen. Fentanyl is mixed with almost every type of drug, including heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and counterfeit pharmaceutical pills. As a result, users often do not know that what they are taking is fentanyl. For example, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Laboratory found that seven out of 10 fake prescription pills that it analyzed last year contained a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl.




Because of the terrible impact that fentanyl has had here locally, it has been a top priority of many members of the community, including treatment providers, medical professionals, public officials, and others who have pursued prevention and treatment strategies to address the opioid crisis.

It also has been a top priority of law enforcement. I believe that enforcement is a critical part of any strategy to address the fentanyl crisis, and we have seen extraordinary work being done on this issue by law enforcement agencies at every level of government: local, state, and federal. These efforts have resulted in many impactful fentanyl trafficking cases being prosecuted by State Attorney’s Offices, the Office of Statewide Prosecution, and my office.

As part of my office’s enforcement efforts, we have focused broadly on four items. First, my office has obtained indictments of some of the Chinese companies and individuals who supply the precursor chemicals that are used to manufacture the fentanyl that is killing Floridians. Second, we have doubled our number of fentanyl prosecutions over the past two fiscal years and have seized over 80 million potentially lethal doses of fentanyl in those cases. Third, we have prosecuted drug traffickers whose distributions have caused deaths or serious bodily injury, subjecting them to enhanced statutory and sentencing penalties. And fourth, we have prosecuted medical professionals, such as doctors, nurses, and pharmacists, who have contributed to the opioid epidemic through the illegal distribution or dispensing of opioids.

The law enforcement agencies – local, state, and federal — that investigated these cases are to be commended for the excellent work they are doing to seek justice for the victims of fentanyl trafficking and to hold accountable those who traffic in that deadly drug. My office is committed to continuing to work alongside them and the many others in communities across Florida who are seeking to address the fentanyl epidemic.

I believe that fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat that we have ever faced. It will continue to be a top priority of the United States Attorney’s Office.

Roger B. Handberg is the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida.