Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Wednesday that new state data show that opioid-related drug overdoses in Florida dropped by 42% and fentanyl-caused deaths by 46% in the first half of 2025.
He attributed the numbers to the “Drugs Identified in Deceased Persons by Florida Medical Examiners” 2025 interim report by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), which tracks such information.
The report shows that statewide reported deaths decreased by 19% in the most recent reporting period. It also shows that opioid-caused deaths dropped by 42% and fentanyl deaths by 46%.
“That is a huge, huge success story, and everybody that’s been involved with that should be awful proud to see those figures,” DeSantis said during a press conference in Titusville.
Overdose deaths in the United States decreased by nearly 14% last year, according to provisional data released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The information is considered provisional because it’s incomplete and subject to change as more entries are submitted to the National Vital Statistics System.
According to the CDC, Rhode Island, New York, North Carolina, Alabama, and Vermont reported declines in drug overdoses of 25% or more.
In the Florida Medical Examiner’s last report on drug overdoses, released last fall, drug-related deaths in 2024 decreased by 14% statewide. Opioid-caused deaths dropped by 32%, and and fentanyl-caused deaths decreased by 35%.
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Joining the governor in Titusville for a news conference were FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass, Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Executive Director Dave Kerner, and Department of Corrections Secretary Ricky Dixon — all of whom praised law enforcement officers and made the case that they should be adequately compensated.
The press conference took place as the Legislature is in Tallahassee in a special session to approve the 2026-27 fiscal year budget.
The governor noted that he included $13.5 million in pay increases for all sworn law enforcement officers in his proposed budget, as well as another $11 million to implement a career development plan for Florida Highway Patrol troopers.
“We worked really hard to do that, as well as increase the pay of our corrections officers, which is a really tough job, and it’s something that we need to remain competitive in, and I know we’ve had a lot of support from the Legislature over the years for those initiatives,” he said.
“Now they’re in and it’s a time to not just say you support law enforcement but step up and show in your actions that you do that, and I know that we would welcome that support.”
‘Huge’
Glass noted that the fentanyl crisis in Florida peaked in 2021, when 5,791 people here died of overdosing on the drug. The most recent reports show that the number of fentanyl and fentanyl “analogue” deaths were roughly 1,500, a 62% decrease.
“That is huge,” he said.
He attributed the reduction to the increase in criminal penalties for drug dealers and wider access to Narcan, a life-saving nasal spray used to rapidly reverse opioid overdoses.
DeSantis also has proposed increasing pay for correctional officers and support staff from $22 to $28 an hour.
“We’ve had some historic pay raises and increases that keep us competitive, and we are very hopeful that the Senate and the House of the Legislature sees the governor’s recommendations through this year and recognize that we have to stay competitive in the compensation for the men and women who do this important work,” Dixon added.
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