{"id":270124,"date":"2026-05-13T23:25:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T23:25:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/270124\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T23:25:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T23:25:09","slug":"florida-drug-related-deaths-declined-sharply-in-2025-fdle-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/270124\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida drug-related deaths declined sharply in 2025, FDLE says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

TITUSVILLE, Fla. – State leaders announced new data showing an overall decline in drug-related deaths across Florida<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass shared recent data from the incoming 2025 Interim Drugs Identified in Deceased Persons Report.<\/p>\n

By the numbers:<\/p>\n

The FDLE says statewide reported drug-related deaths decreased by 19%\u00a0from January to June 2025.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

According to the report, opioid-related deaths decreased by 42%, and fentanyl-related deaths decreased by 46%.<\/p>\n

Glass says in 2021, the number of fentanyl-related deaths was at an all-time high.<\/p>\n

“We were talking 5,791 people died of fentanyl, alone, in the state of Florida in 2021,” Glass said.<\/p>\n

Glass says this newest report shows that number drop to about 1,500 fentanyl-related deaths.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, state leaders joined Gov. Ron DeSantis<\/a> at a press conference in Brevard County.<\/p>\n

What they’re saying:<\/p>\n

The governor discussed the results of Operation Vigilant Sentry, which involved sending more law enforcement resources to assist the U.S. Coast Guard in interdiction efforts.<\/p>\n

DeSantis says thousands of illegal migrants and hundreds of vessels, some carrying narcotics, have been intercepted through the operation.<\/p>\n

The governor says the SAFE Act, which was passed a couple of years ago, has also helped local law enforcement agencies conduct large-scale drug operations.<\/p>\n

“They’ve had 3,000 arrests, 600 pounds of fentanyl and 65,000 fentanyl pills,” DeSantis said. “That’s enough fentanyl to kill almost half of the U.S. population.”<\/p>\n

State leaders say SAFE investigations have also led to the seizure of $6.4 million in cash and more than 970 guns.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

DeSantis highlighted cases in the Bay Area<\/a>, including the bust of a fentanyl ring in Pasco County<\/a> that was tied to multiple overdose deaths, and a bust in Polk County<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“FDLE and Sheriff Judd’s office carried out the largest fentanyl seizure in county history, involving cartel members tied to the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels,” DeSantis said.<\/p>\n

Dig deeper:<\/p>\n

State leaders used this platform to make a push for more resources and funding for law enforcement in Florida.<\/p>\n

Dave Kerner, the executive director of the\u00a0Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles,\u00a0pushed for the state legislature to pass $11 million in funding for a career development program for Florida Highway Patrol troopers. This funding is included in the governor’s proposed budget.<\/p>\n

Other state leaders also pushed for additional pay increases for law enforcement officers and corrections officers, which are also included in the proposed budget.<\/p>\n

“We’ve had some historic pay raises and increases that keep us competitive, and we’re very hopeful that the Senate, the House and the legislature sees the governor’s recommendations through this year,” Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Ricky Dixon said.<\/p>\n

According to state leaders, the proposed 2026-2027 fiscal year budget includes an increase to starting pay for correctional officers, from $22 to $28 an hour.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

The budget also includes $13.5 million in additional pay increases for sworn state law enforcement officers.<\/p>\n

What’s next:<\/p>\n

State lawmakers are currently trying to finalize the budget for the upcoming fiscal year in a special session.<\/p>\n

The Source: \u00a0Information for this story was gathered from a press conference with the governor of Florida, the FDLE commissioner,\u00a0the Florida Department of Corrections secretary and\u00a0the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles executive director.<\/p>\n

Florida<\/a>Crime and Public Safety<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TITUSVILLE, Fla. – State leaders announced new data showing an overall decline in drug-related deaths across Florida. On…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":270125,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[630,47,28,30,29,115,628],"class_list":["post-270124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-crime-publicsafety","tag-fl","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-news","tag-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270124\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/270125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}