The opioid epidemic claims about 130 American lives each day, and an estimated 11 in Florida. One epidemiologist says the problem isn’t being felt as much in the Big Bend – but safeguards against overdose could be better.
Stephanie Moody-Geissler has an extensive research background, and has studied epidemics like Ebola in West Africa. But for the past several years she’s been based in Tallahassee, gathering data about opioid use in Florida.
On Wednesday, Moody-Geissler spoke to Tallahassee’s chapter of the League of Women Voters. She led off by answering the question – where are we in the opioid epidemic?
“In the 90’s and early 2000’s, we had the first wave – which was mainly driven by prescription drugs such as Oxy(contin). Well, around 2010, when the pill mills started to close and drug diversion became less, we hit a second wave of overdose deaths brought to you by predominantly heroin,” Moody-Geissler said. “In the past couple years we’ve entered a third wave of overdose deaths, brought to you by synthetic drugs such as Fentanyl, and Fentanyl analog.”
Moody-Geissler says the epidemic is not hitting the Big Bend particularly hard – Leon County had 16 opioid deaths in 2017 compared to Palm Beach County’s more than 600. But, she says better safeguards for public health and against overdose would be of benefit.
“Here in the Panhandle, we have a little bit of a desert, when it comes to Noloxone distribution,” Moody-Geissler said. “We do have a few places, Apalachicola, a few here in the Leon and Gadsden area.”
Naloxone is a drug that can act as an antidote in users overdosing on opioids. It’s commonly used as a nasal spray, called Narcan – which is available without a prescription at drug stores in Florida. Moody-Geissler says Leon County also has only one needle disposal side, at the Department of Health on Old Bainbridge Road.
“Improper disposal of sharps threatens our community. They can be thrown in the trash, they can lay out – and it can contribute to a new viral infection,” Moody-Geissler said.
When it comes to safe disposal sites for unused prescription pills and other medications, Tallahassee only has three – one of which is at Police Department headquarters. Moody-Geissler says some of those disposal sites report receiving three to 12 pounds of unused medication per week.
Moody-Geissler opened her talk by saying some of the solutions for alleviating problems relating to the epidemic are her own opinion. One of those opinions is that the League back a piece of legislation filed for this upcoming session.
“What it is, is an expansion of the needle exchange program in Miami. Like I said, currently the Miami IDEA Exchange is a pilot program that’s been operating for two years. Well, the cities and counties around the state – specifically down south, they want to see it expanded. They want to have their own needle and syringe exchanges,” Moody-Geissler said.
HB 171 is sponsored by two State Representatives, Democrat Shevrin Jones and Republican Rene Plasencia. Teri Cleeland, President of Tallahassee’s League of Women Voters, says Moody-Geissler’s talk helped give context to opioid use locally.
“The League of Women voters has a committee dedicated to public health issues, and we’ve all been hearing a lot about the opioid epidemic nationally,” Cleeland said. “So, we wanted to bring it closer to home here, how is it affecting us here in Leon County, and even more helpful, what are some steps that we can take to address this issue?”
