The Miami-Dade County Commission on April 10 unanimously approved an ordinance sponsored by Chairman Esteban Bovo Jr. to extend the life of the County’s Opioid Addiction Task Force by another year. The ordinance was cosponsored by Commissioners Sally A. Heyman and Daniella Levine Cava.
The opioid task force was created in 2017 to study the opioid crisis in Miami-Dade County and identify solutions through a comprehensive opioid addiction action plan, including community based and other strategies to combat the epidemic. The task force was originally given 365 days to develop its action plan, but will now have an additional year to complete its work.
“Opioid addiction is devastating lives and families across the United States and right here in Miami-Dade County. I look forward to working with the task force to implement their recommendations and addressing this terrible epidemic in a comprehensive way,” Chairman Bovo said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, opioids are involved in more than six out of every 10 drug overdose deaths, and since 1999, the rate of overdose deaths involving opioids has nearly quadrupled to over 165,000 deaths from prescription opioid overdoses. Florida ranks fourth in the nation for total health care costs attributed to opioid abuse.
“The problem of opioid abuse has reached truly epidemic proportions, and it requires a holistic approach that brings all our resources and stakeholder partners together to solve it,” Commissioner Heyman said.
