Daniel Webster
Professor Of Health Policy And Management, Johns Hopkins University
Key Findings
- The crackdown on opioids through state policy and law enforcement in Florida had an impact in lowering opioid-related deaths in the state.
- Results show that a large majority of opioid-related deaths came from prescription opioids (91.6% in Florida and 82.2% North Carolina).
- A smaller proportion of opioid-related deaths was solely attributed to heroin (7.2% in Florida and 16.0% in North Carolina).
- The number of opioid-related deaths in Florida dropped by an estimated 1.5 fewer deaths per 100,000 individuals in 2011 after implementing a crackdown on opioids.
- In 2011 and 2012, the growth of opioids was larger in North Carolina than in Florida, which had implemented tactics to reduce the percentage of opioid-related deaths.
Description
In the review, “Opioid Overdose Deaths and Florida’s Crackdown on Pill Mills,” Webster and his co-authors examine the effect of laws and enforcement to limit “pill mills” in Florida in an effort to reduce opioid-related deaths in the state. To conduct their study, the researchers used data from the Florida Department of Health from 2003 to 2012 and the North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics. In 2010, Florida’s law enforcement and state politicians attempted to crack down on opioids during a time when North Carolina did not. The researchers used North Carolina’s data as a control variable to gauge the effectiveness of the crack down on opioids. The researchers analyzed three dependent variables: prescription opioid, heroin and any or both opioid types. They used multivariate adaptive regression spline (MARS) model to analyze data. The results showed that a large majority of opioid-related deaths came from prescription opioids (91.6% in Florida and 82.2% North Carolina). A smaller proportion of opioid-related deaths was solely attributed to heroin (7.2% in Florida and 16.0% in North Carolina). After Florida implemented policy and law enforcement tactics to reduce opioid-related deaths in 2010, the number of deaths dropped by an estimated 1.5 fewer deaths per 100,000 individuals in 2011. In 2011, in North Carolina, the opioid deaths by heroin increased by an average of 18% per month compared to the 8% increase in heroin deaths in Florida per month. In 2012, North Carolina the opioid deaths caused by heroin increased by an average of 10% per month compared to the 6% increase in heroin deaths in Florida per month. The findings indicated that the crackdown on opioids through state policy and law enforcement had an impact in lowering opioid-related deaths in Florida. In conclusion, the researchers note the need for more policy and enforcement tactics to reduce opioid-related deaths.