Opioid crisis spurs action

Every two hours, someone in southern Florida overdoses from heroin or a similar powerful painkiller, according to data presented Thursday at a summit in Boca Raton to address the mounting drug death toll.

“This is an epidemic of addiction and death,” said Jim Hall, an epidemiologist at Nova Southeastern University who has studied South Florida’s drug market for decades. He equated the situation to a Category 5 hurricane.

Miami U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer, who helped organize the summit, called the rising number of overdose deaths “the most urgent challenge we face in public health.”

The event at Lynn University was part of a call to action by President Barack Obama, who proclaimed Sept. 18-24 Prescription Opioid and Heroin Epidemic Awareness Week. Law enforcement officers, first responders and health officials attended the summit.

In 2015, medical examiners reported 4,380 heroin or painkiller over--

doses in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and six other counties in southern Florida and 1,460 deaths, according to data presented by Hall.

Nationwide, drug overdoses are now the leading cause of accidental death, surpassing even car crashes.

The problem only seems to be getting worse, experts said.

In Delray Beach, officers responded to 195 overdoses for all drugs in 2015, said Jeff Goldman, chief of police. So far this year, the city — known as a recovery destination for addicts — has recorded 394 heroin and painkiller overdoses and 37 deaths, he said.

Behind the statistics are the tragic stories of lives cut short.

Margaret “Peggy” Hernandez, a Wellington resident, said she found her 23-year-old son in his bedroom cold and purple with blood coming out of his nose and mouth. She said she never suspected her son was addicted until itwas too late.

“I sling open the door, and there’s my son — dead,” she recalled, holding back tears. “Dead. Dead. Dead. That’s what I came out and told his sister. … It can happen to anyone’s family.”

An autopsy revealed her son, Christian “Ty” Hernandez, overdosed Feb.19 on the powerful painkiller fentanyl. The synthetic drug is 100 times more potent than morphine and is being combined with heroin. Often, addicts don’t even know they are using fentanyl, which can be deadly even in small doses, officials said.

A federal jury found Hernandez’s drug dealer guilty of distributing the fentanyl that caused his death; he faces up to 20 years in prison. Law enforcement officials say they will continue to prosecute dealers for the overdose deaths of addicts.

China is a source of fentanyl, said John McKenna, assistant special agent in charge at the West Palm Beach DEA office. Fentanyl is illegal in China, but chemists are slightly altering the drug and selling it, he said.

Dealers looking to increase their profits are mixing heroin, which costs about $40,000 to $60,000 a kilogram, with fentanyl or fentanyl-like drugs that sell for about $1,000 to $2,000 per kilo, McKennna said. DEA investigators are working to cut off the supply from China, he said.

In addition to cracking down on drug dealers, officials say they are working in other ways to slow the rising number of deaths.

Officers are being equipped with naloxone, a drug known as Narcan, which can reverse the effects of a heroin overdose. Task forces have been formed to draft legislation to crack down on unscrupulous recovery residences and develop strategies for getting addicts into treatment.

Obama wants Congress to allocate $1 billion to expand treatment, Ferrer said.

“This addiction has no boundaries,” Ferrer said. “It’s everywhere. Anyone can be a victim.”