Every year the Florida Medical Examiners Commission releases a report identifying the drugs that caused deaths in Florida. Several weeks ago the group issued its 2022 report. For the first time in 12 years, the report showed a small decrease in deaths caused by fentanyl.
As a 21-year career federal prosecutor, I believe fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat we have ever faced, and the data reported by the Florida Medical Examiners supports this view. The commission first included fentanyl-caused deaths in its 2003 annual report, reporting 124 deaths. From 2003 to 2013, the number of deaths ranged from 98 to 185.
Starting in 2014, the number of deaths increased dramatically, topping 1,000 in 2016; 2,000 in 2018; 3,000 in 2019; and 5,000 in 2020. The largest increase was from 2019 to 2020 when the number of deaths rose from 2,058 to 5,302. The number of deaths increased to its highest point in 2021 with 5,791 deaths and has now decreased about 3% in 2022 to 5,622.
Over a 19-year period, the number of deaths caused by fentanyl in Florida has increased over 4,000% and the state is not alone. In 2015 the Drug Enforcement Administration issued a national alert on fentanyl as a threat to health and public safety.