Strike force, more funding are a start in battle

Central Floridians preoccupied lately by news of the aftermath of two major hurricanes, Irma and Maria, might have overlooked some shocking statistics released by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office: There were 465 opioid overdoses in the county in 2017 from January through August, up more than two and a half times from 179 in the same period in 2016. And deaths from those 2017 overdoses, 31, nearly tripled the 11 deaths from the first eight months in 2016.

Addiction to opioids, including heroin and related legal and illegal painkillers, is a growing epidemic in Central Florida and other communities around the state. An estimated 5,300 Floridians died from opioid overdoses in 2016, up from 3,896 in 2015, according to the state’s Medical Examiners Commission.

So a call from Gov. Rick Scott for legislators to pump $50 million more into the fight against opioid addiction and impose caps on painkiller prescriptions is welcome — but it’s only a start.

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A FLOOR, NOT A CEILING, ON FUNDING

In May, declaring opioid abuse a public-health emergency, Scott made $54 million in federal funds available over two years for addiction prevention, treatment and recovery. He also announced several constructive measures to expand access for first responders to naloxone, which reverses the deadly effects of an opioid overdose. Last month, he wisely extended his emergency declaration, opening the pipeline from Washington, D.C., for an additional $20 million.

The $50 million Scott requested from legislators would go to substance-abuse treatment, recovery services and a state council that distributes funds to state and local law-enforcement agencies to work major drug cases. Approval in next year’s budget would be a positive step, but the number needs to be put in perspective. Since taking office in 2011, the governor has signed budgets from the Legislature cutting millions in state funding for substance-abuse programs.

Advocates say lawmakers would have to come up with hundreds of millions more dollars to make up for previous cuts and match funding levels in other states. The supply of drug treatment in Florida doesn’t come close to meeting the demand for it. So the $50 million Scott requested should be the floor, not the ceiling, on additional state funding.

Shortchanging prevention and treatment costs taxpayers more in the long run as the bills start piling up for health care, law enforcement and other expenses associated with addiction and overdoses. The public’s annual cost for treating opioid abuse through Medicaid in just one county, Orange, rose by $28 million between 2010 and 2015.

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COMING AROUND ON RX CONTROL

Scott called for a three-day cap on most initial opioid prescriptions, with limited seven-day exceptions. While shorter prescriptions for painkillers could cost patients more in co-payments, longer ones put them at greater danger of becoming hooked, according to a study from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some patients prescribed painkillers following car accidents or sports injuries turn into addicts and end up resorting to illegal supplies of heroin or heroin laced with fentanyl or even carfentanyl — a drug thousands of times more potent than heroin — when their prescriptions expire, exposing themselves to a much higher risk of overdoses.

Other states have imposed caps on prescriptions, but a bill to establish them in Florida was defeated in the Legislature last year amid opposition from pharmaceutical companies, insurers, medical providers and some consumer groups. If Scott wants his latest proposal to pass, he’ll need to work through any legitimate objections from these groups. Exceptions need to be in place for patients with chronic pain, cancer or terminal illnesses, for example.

Also under the governor’s proposal, anyone writing opioid prescriptions would be required to use the Florida Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, a database created in 2009 when the state was fighting pill mills. He opposed the program when he entered office in 2011; a spokeswoman for Scott said he now supports the program after signing multiple pieces of legislation to strengthen it. Scott also called for requiring more education for prescribers and cracking down on unlicensed pain management clinics, another pair of positive steps.

As we noted last month, the Florida Drug and Alcohol Abuse Association has recommended that leaders establish a state-level strike force to put together a comprehensive plan to fight the opioid crisis and coordinate efforts among agencies. Other states around the country have taken this approach, but the governor didn’t include it in his proposal. If legislators want to strengthen the proposal, adding a strike force — along with more state funding — is a good way to get started.

An editorial from the Orlando Sentinel. Online: orlandosentinel.com/