Scott: Opioid abuse a public emergency

Gov. Rick Scott declared opioid abuse a public emergency Wednesday, a move that will bring more money to the fight and sharpen the state’s focus on the overdose epidemic.

The declaration means $27 million in federal funds can be freed up for prevention, treatment and recovery services. How the money will be divided has yet to be determined.

In 2016, opioid overdoses killed 582 people in Broward and 592 people in Palm Beach County, officials said.

“I know firsthand how heartbreaking substance abuse can be to a family because it impacted my own family growing up,” Scott said. “The individuals struggling with drug use are sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and friends, and each tragic case leaves loved ones searching for answers and praying

for help.”

A series of workshops in the areas hit hardest by the epidemic began Monday in West Palm Beach.

Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi support two bills in the Legislature cracking down on traffickers of fentanyl, a powerful sedative being mixed with heroin that is behind many of the overdoses, and on sober homes.

The Senate passed the fentanyl bill Wednesday after giving judges more discretion when sentencing traffickers. If the House approves, the bill then goes to the governor for signing.

The bill on sober homes — halfway houses for people just out of rehab, which have sprung up rapidly in Delray Beach and the rest of South Florida — prevents them from making false statements in their advertising.

That bill passed the House a week ago, but the Senate version has languished since April 20, when it passed its last committee.

“There’s still three days left in session,” said the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth. “I feel like it’s good legislation and it’s something that the entire South Florida community is crying for, so I have confidence in the process.”

Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, who can determine what bills are heard on the floor, said he was still contemplating it.

“We’re still determining the final bills that will come up for session,” Negron said. “I know a number of senators have been advocating for that bill.”

The governor had been facing increasing pressure from local governments and state legislators to declare a public emergency.

“The state of emergency coalesces everybody behind the problem,” Clemens said last month. “I’m a little perplexed and confused why we have thousands of deaths in Florida and we don’t declare a state of emergency, but we have wildfires that have caused zero deaths and we do.”

Palm Beach County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay has repeatedly said the state hasn’t done enough to act on the crisis.

“I think it sends a message to the Legislature to pass the sober home legislation that is still outstanding as well as fund the sober home, opioid epidemic-related items in the proposed budget,” McKinlay said Wednesday.

Justin Kunzelman, a recovering addict and CEO of Rebel Recovery, said that while he appreciates the governor’s action, it should not have taken this long. Kunzelman, who serves on Palm Beach County’s Sober Homes Task Force, said he is looking forward to seeing what actions the state takes next.

“Essentially, declaring a public health emergency is not a win, it’s telling us things that we already knew,” he said. “What are you going to do proactively to fix it?”

Two operators of sober homes in Broward and Palm Beach counties were among three people who were sentenced to up to seven years in prison as part of a multimillion-dollar health-care fraud scheme last week.

At the Monday workshop in West Palm Beach, Maureen Kielian, whose son is in long-term addiction recovery, organized a welcome rally for state leaders. About 30 demonstrators greeted officials with signs encouraging them to bring a message back to Tallahassee: Declare a public health emergency.

On Wednesday, Kielian said she is crying tears of joy.

“I’m speechless,” she said. “I can actually say I might be able to sleep a few peaceful hours.”

“Declaring a public health emergency is not a win, it’s telling us things that we already knew.” Recovering addict Justin Kunzelman