ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Since January 2015, 82 people have died from heroin overdoses in Orange County.
Three overdose deaths happened within the last week.
For the past six months, an Orange County heroin task force has examined the situation in the hopes of developing a plan to fight the growing problem.
A law enforcement crackdown has helped, Orlando police Chief John Mina said Monday.
New and targeted operations has netted 372 drug arrests and the seizure of nearly $750,000 in product, he said.
"I know in the city of Orlando, before we started the task force and after we started the task force, just in these last six or seven months, we could see a decrease in overdose deaths," Mina said.
Mina encouraged even more of the targeted operations and increased bond amounts to keep dealers in jail longer.
The county should also take advantage of state funding to better equip law enforcement and first responders, he said. Mina said he wants to equip first responders with the opiate antidote Narcan.
Figuring out how to get additional funding is the next phase of the process, Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs said.
The money spent on fighting drug crime is money the county “can’t afford not to spend,” she said.
"People need to be aware. Citizens need to take responsibility as well. It is a literally a disease and you need to deal with it that way," Jacobs said.
Cox Media Group
