Deadly drug threat

National DEA report shows increased usage of heroin and fentanyl throughout state

Police are worried about every drug that hurts the community, but their focus lately has been on stopping two of the deadliest: heroin and illicit fentanyl.

A report released Tuesday by the Drug Enforcement Administration shows they aren’t alone.

The yearly National Drug Threat Assessment compiles survey data from nearly 1,500 law enforcement agencies to examine the country’s drug abuse and trafficking problems.

Heroin and the growing nationwide opioid epidemic, exacerbated by illicit fentanyl, highlighted this year’s report.

The numbers have been steadily increasing, and in 2015 Florida saw the highest number of opioid deaths in more than a decade.

In Orange and Osceola counties alone, 67 people died of a fentanyl overdose and 105 from heroin, according to a statewide medical examiner’s report.

Orlando Police Department Deputy Chief Robert Anzueto said detectives have recently seen an uptick in fentanyl use and overdoses.

He said heroin is one thing, but when dealers mix it with fentanyl, it becomes an even deadlier substance.

Officers were outfitted with Narcan, a nasal-spray drug that counteracts the effects of an opioid overdose, this summer and have used it a few times since, he said. Orange County deputy sheriffs carry a similar antidote.

The DEA report showed cocaine and prescription pills are still readily available across much of the country, despite drops in use.

The report showed that more than 40 percent of the agencies in Florida that responded said marijuana and methamphetamine were the biggest threats to their communities.

“Any drug that can cause devastation to your city, no matter if it’s marijuana, crack cocaine, cocaine opiates, heroin fentanyl — they’re all a concern,” Anzueto said. “And our job is to prevent and educate and eradicate.”