SANFORD, Fla.—Today, Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation to increase penalties on individuals who expose law enforcement officers to fentanyl and to bring awareness to life-saving measures for someone experiencing an opioid overdose. Governor DeSantis also announced an expansion of the Coordinated Opioid Response (CORE) network from 12 counties to 29. 

“Because of the Biden administration’s unwillingness to secure the southern border, law enforcement officers are encountering fentanyl at alarming rates,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “I’m signing legislation today to keep officers safe on the job, and to further combat the opioid epidemic.”

“Opioid addiction has been a scourge in the lives of too many Floridians and too many Americans around the country,” said State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo. “Thanks to Governor DeSantis and the support of our legislators, we are continuing to take steps to address this human tragedy. CORE’s expansion will support and treat more Floridians and serve as a model for states around the country.”

“CORE’s holistic approach to combating the opioid epidemic has resulted in unprecedented results for Floridians battling addiction,” said Department of Children and Families Secretary Shevaun Harris. “Florida is grateful for the Governor and First Lady’s innovative leadership, and the Department looks forward to continuing to work with partners and key stakeholders to support families on their path to recovery and resiliency.”

Governor Ron DeSantis signed SB 718 and SB 66 into law.

SB 718 does the following:

• Creates a second-degree felony for any adult who, through unlawful possession of dangerous fentanyl or fentanyl products, recklessly exposes any first responder to such fentanyl and that results in overdose or serious bodily injury.
• Expands protections from prosecution for individuals who seek help in good faith due to the belief that they or someone they know is experiencing an overdose.

SB 66 does the following:

• Designates June 6^th as Revive Awareness Day.
• Directs the Florida Department of Health to raise awareness of the dangers of opioid overdose and the safe use of opioid counteractants. 

Governor DeSantis also announced that CORE has expanded from 12 counties to 17 additional counties in Florida. This includes Bay, Broward, Collier, Hernando, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lake, Lee, Leon, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Okaloosa, Orange, Polk, Sarasota, Seminole, and St. Lucie counties.

While nationwide statistics show that only 18.8% of adults with an opioid addiction have received medication to treat the addiction in the past year, CORE far exceeded the national average with 48.9% of patients receiving Medication Assisted Treatment. CORE providers have responded to nearly 18,000 emergency calls which resulted in a life saved through the administration of naloxone. 

With the launch of CORE, Florida has also seen a reduction in the number of emergency medical service responses necessary for drug overdose. Recent state level data shows 607 fewer EMS responses to suspected overdoses—a 3% decrease since 2022. From January to June in 2023, CORE counties Duval and Escambia saw a drop of 176 and 146 EMS calls, respectively, for suspected opioid overdose from the same period in 2022. Pinellas County, another CORE county, had 406 fewer emergency medical service responses during the same time frame. This was the largest reduction in emergency medical service responses to suspected overdoses across the 12 CORE counties.

Thanks to programs like CORE, overdose deaths are on the decline in Florida. Data shows a 9% decrease—557 fewer deaths—from September 2022 to September 2023, compared to the previous year’s statewide count.

Today, Governor DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis celebrate one year of helping Floridians break the cycle of addiction through the Coordinated Opioid Recovery Network (CORE). As the first comprehensive solution to addiction care in the nation, this program disrupts the revolving door of addiction and overdose by providing patients with the tools to choose sustainable recovery.

“The Florida CORE Network is pioneering the future of recovery in America,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “While Biden’s Border Crisis exacerbates the deadly influx of fentanyl and leftist states stock vending machines with drug paraphernalia, Florida refuses to sit idly by as these deadly drugs ruin and  take lives. In one year, we’ve saved more lives than any other state by providing essential addiction treatment to those who need it most.”

In 2022, Governor DeSantis and First Lady DeSantis launched the CORE Network, taking an aggressive approach to the opioid and fentanyl crises. Since President Biden took office, more than 21 tons of fentanyl have crossed the southern border, enough to kill 9.7 billion people. From 2021 to 2022, federal progress was abysmal, with vital statistics data showing no change nationally in total drug-related deaths. The same year, drug-related deaths in Florida decreased over 4% from 2021, saving over 300 lives from the dangers of overdose and addiction by focusing on treating rather than enabling or exacerbating the disease. This is the highest decrease in drug-related deaths of any other state.

Many traditional addiction treatments focus on one pillar of care, but CORE encompasses a holistic approach, treating addiction as a disease. This comprehensive approach expands every aspect of overdose response and treats all primary and secondary impacts of substance use disorder, including coexisting medical and mental health conditions. This model, originally piloted in Palm Beach County, reduced overdose rates to 0% among patients after two years of care.

Within just the inaugural year, the initial 12 CORE Network counties have saved countless lives:

• Typical overdose response only focuses on stabilizing the patient, fueling the cycle of addiction. Within CORE counties, emergency medical providers connected 25,000 overdose patients to long-term recovery.

• Providing nearly 550,000 services that support the patient’s overall sustainable long-term recovery, including disease treatment, dental care, primary care, psychiatric evaluation, and maternal care.

• Evidence shows Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) reduces the risk of fatal overdose by over 50% and supports long-term sobriety.

• MAT involves a treatment plan that uses a combination of medication and behavioral therapies. MAT medications work by binding with the same receptors in the brain that opioids do, reducing withdrawals and cravings without producing the euphoria that the original substance did. This allows the patient to receive the benefits of behavioral strategies and address underlying issues.

“Since its inception last August, CORE has helped to facilitate connections with key stakeholders and health care networks across our state to combat overdose and addiction and connect individuals suffering from substance use disorder with life-saving care,” said Department of Child and Families Secretary Shevaun Harris. “The work that the CORE program has done in its first year is unprecedented, and the Department is so proud to work alongside the Department of Health and other partners in continuing the fight to end the opioid epidemic.”

“I am very proud of how our state leadership and CORE Network partners have worked together to advance this nation-leading life-saving recovery program,” said State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo. “With long-term support and recovery as the goal, Florida has assembled a team of experts to effectively approach how we address this complex problem in public health.”

“CORE brings new hope and medical evidence-based treatment to patients suffering from this chronic and life-threatening disease,” said Florida Deputy Secretary for Health Dr. Kenneth Scheppke. “By coordinating the efforts of emergency medical services, hospital emergency departments, and life-long specialty addiction medicine clinics, patients are supported to achieve long-term healthy lives.”

If you or a loved one need help:

The Coordinated Opioid Recovery (CORE) Network is the first of its kind in the U.S. and aims to eliminate the stigma of addiction and treat substance use disorder as a disease, with the same level of continuous care. Floridians battling with addiction can utilize CORE for stabilization and to receive medication-assisted treatment from a network of specialized medical experts that will help guide them on a sustained pathway to healthy success.

A public health and safety alert was also deployed by the Florida Department of Health on July 8, 2022, to ensure Floridians remain vigilant of the signs of overdose. This alert can be found here. Poster materials can be found here.

Funding will go to programs that prevent and treat substance abuse, including the CORE Network, and establish the Office of Opioid Recovery

Governor Ron DeSantis was joined by First Lady Casey DeSantis to announce plans for the $205.7 million from the Opioid Settlement Agreement. These funds will establish the Office of Opioid Recovery, within the Department of Children and Families, to oversee treatment and recovery efforts statewide. Through cross-agency collaboration and community partnerships, Florida’s plan to use these funds is focused on implementing strategies and expanding programs that effectively serve Florida communities through evidence-based practices, including the CORE Network. For more information, click here. To watch the full press conference, click here.

“We want to stop illicit drugs from entering our state, hold dealers accountable, educate Floridians on the dangers and provide treatment that breaks the addiction cycle,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “Opioid addiction is plaguing our state and nation, and we are seeing more fatalities related to overdose than ever before with fentanyl being trafficked through the southern border. We will use funds from the opioid settlement in the most efficient and effective way possible to end addiction in Florida.”

“The urgency to combat substance abuse is only escalating – we are no longer talking about the drugs from ten years ago, and the key to protecting our children is prevention,” said First Lady Casey DeSantis. “Through The Facts. Your Future., materials like what was shown today, and improved substance abuse prevention instruction in schools, students are educated to make decisions that protect their health and see, with their own eyes, the dangerous impact of illicit drug use. In Florida, we are equipping students with the tools they need to overcome challenges and withstand peer pressure to say no to drug use.”

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This month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released their 2022 Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Pain. The report is an update to previous 2016 Guidelines, but takes a step backwards in the national fight against the opioid crisis.

In response, Dr. Kenneth A. Scheppke, Florida’s Deputy Secretary for Health, wrote the response below. This was published in the Wall Street Journal on November 21, 2022. 

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The U.S. has grappled with the opioid crisis for nearly two decades.

In 2020 more than 90,000 Americans died from a drug overdose, with 75% of these deaths involving opioids. More Americans 18 to 45 died from overdose in 2020 than automobile accidents and suicide combined.

Opioid use disorder is a chronic life-threatening disease that people contract through exposure to opioids, either illicit or prescribed by a physician. In recognition of this, in 2016 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pointed out the risks of overprescribing and the need to limit opioid prescriptions to three days for acute pain. It also recommended that doctors avoid increasing dosage past 90 milligrams of morphine a day.

Yet in early November the CDC updated its Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Pain. The updated recommendations toss aside limiting opioid treatment to three days and remove the dosage recommendation. The accompanying 2022 report even says: “Opioids can be essential medications for the management of pain; however, they carry considerable potential risk.”

“Potential” risk? In the 2016 report, opioids were described as having “serious risks, including overdose and opioid use disorder.” There is nothing potential about it. While opioids can be necessary for severe conditions and end-of-life care, the general public shouldn’t be told they are “essential” for pain management.

Many healthcare professionals who have entered practice in recent decades will identify with episodes of the Hulu series “Dopesick,” which tells the story of the dark years before the dangers of opioids were understood. Overprescription of opioids has led to addiction and dependence on illicit drugs. In one study, 80% of heroin users reported that they began this illicit drug use after being prescribed opioids. Therefore, the warning to prescribers should be that prescriptions are often the pathway to illicit drug dependence and have contributed to the fentanyl crisis. I suspect many physicians will wonder why the new report reverses sound advice and minimizes the clear and proven danger of opioids.

In Florida we have made major strides to understand this disease and the need for non-opioid pain-therapy options. Our state has taken aggressive steps toward combating the deadly opioid crisis through evidence-based treatment, while ensuring that those who knowingly contribute to the spread of this disease are held accountable.

Still, there has been an explosion of deadly fentanyl in our state both as a replacement for older illicit opioids and as an additive in many other street drugs. Since 2015 fentanyl-related overdose deaths have increased 790% in Florida.

In response to these alarming statistics, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation earlier this year enhancing penalties for the criminals selling this poison in our communities and developed Florida’s Coordinated Opioid Recovery, or CORE, Network to help the victims suffering from substance use disorder.

CORE Network recognizes substance-use disorder as a chronic, lifelong disease. Overdose is a symptom of that disease. To disrupt the revolving door of overdose and recovery among those with substance-use disorder, CORE Network connects overdose cases to long-term sustainable recovery resources. If someone in a CORE county overdoses, 911 protocol will begin stabilization while transporting the patient to a specialty hospital with expertise in addiction medicine. Once all emergent health threats are stabilized, the patient’s long-term healthcare needs are identified and supported. Patients are then connected to organizations that support sustainable recovery, including access to medication-assisted treatment, primary care, dental care, workforce development and more.

The CORE Network does not require overdose for access to sustainable care services and provides the resources to obtain customized, evidence-based care to support lifelong recovery. Florida is working around the clock to expand this treatment model as the standard of care for recovery.

The nation has taken action to address this man-made catastrophe of opioid addiction, with a substantial amount of the blame being placed squarely on pharmaceutical companies. With approximately $50 billion in global settlements for opioid recovery funds, we are on the right path to obtaining the resources we need to end this deadly epidemic.

The opioid crisis was caused by greed. The healthcare system was led to believe these medications were safe. Pharmaceutical companies fraudulently convinced governments of safety. Patients were overprescribed these substances, leading to devastating consequences. We are beginning to learn from our mistakes, reduce stigma, recognize this disorder as the brain disease it is and take steps toward a brighter future. Now isn’t the time for the CDC to relax its opioid recommendations.

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Dr. Kenneth A. Scheppke is a licensed medical doctor who is also a dual board-certified specialist in emergency medicine and the subspecialty of EMS. Dr. Scheppke received his medical degree from Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University. He completed his internship and residency at the Medical Center of Delaware where he was elected Chief Resident.

Dr. Scheppke has over 25 years of extensive experience in EMS, and his contributions to the field have earned him nationwide recognition and awards. A major key accomplishment is his leadership in the development of the CORE Network, initially piloted in Palm Beach County where he serves as Fire Rescue Medical Director.