Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Florida News

Vern Buchanan Wants More Funds for Drug Treatment in Next Coronavirus Stimulus Bill

Buchanan pointed to numbers from the Sarasota County Sheriff’s office showing 29 deaths due to opioids so far in 2020, up from 13 for all of 2019. Non-fatal overdoses in the county have also increased from 88 in all of 2019 to 121 in the first six months of 2020.

Share Story Via Text, E-Mail, Facebook or Twitter
Buchanan pointed to numbers from the Sarasota County Sheriff’s office showing 29 deaths due to opioids so far in 2020, up from 13 for all of 2019. Non-fatal overdoses in the county have also increased from 88 in all of 2019 to 121 in the first six months of 2020.

Pointing to “a shocking surge of drug overdose deaths” in his district, this week, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., said he will fight for more funds for drug treatment in the next coronavirus stimulus bill.

Buchanan pointed to numbers from the Sarasota County Sheriff’s office showing 29 deaths due to opioids so far in 2020, up from 13 for all of 2019. Non-fatal overdoses in the county have also increased from 88 in all of 2019 to 121 in the first six months of 2020.

The congressman also cited more opioid abuse in Manatee County.

“Manatee County also reported an increase in fatal and non-fatal overdoses but at a much smaller pace. Deaths in Manatee County have increased to 49 in the first six months of this year from 46 over the comparable time period last year. Non-fatal overdoses have also increased in Manatee County in the first six months of 2019 from 258 last year to 388 this year,” Buchanan’s office noted.

These trends are also mirrored at the national level.

“Nationally overdoses in the United States jumped 18 percent in March, 29 percent in April and 42 percent in May according to the Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program, a federal initiative that collects data from ambulance teams, hospitals and police,” Buchana’s office noted.

Buchanan said on Tuesday that he was reaching out to leaders on both sides of the aisle on the matter.

“The spike in drug overdoses in our region during the coronavirus pandemic is tragic and alarming,” Buchanan said. “We have to get treatment to those in need both in Southwest Florida and across the country. As we continue to combat the coronavirus we need to make sure we are addressing other health impacts exacerbated by this pandemic.

“The opioid crisis has destroyed too many families and lives. We cannot forget about this crisis even during the coronavirus pandemic. I will continue my work in Congress to make sure Florida has the resources it needs to help save lives and fight this epidemic,” Buchanan added.

Last year, Buchanan teamed up with U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., to bring out the “Fentanyl Sanctions Act” which will “provide the U.S. government with tools and resources to punish illicit fentanyl traffickers in China, Mexico, and other countries, and to hold accountable the Chinese government and other nations who fail to stop these trafficking networks.” The measure was included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

 

Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com.

Author

  • Kevin Derby

    Originally from Jacksonville, Kevin Derby is a contributing writer for Florida Daily and covers politics across Florida.

    View all posts
Share Story Via Text, E-Mail, Facebook or Twitter

Follow Us on Social Media

Archives

Related Stories

Political News

Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio sent a letter to U.S. Department of Human Health Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra requesting the use of...

Political News

Hurricanes Helene and Milton brought high winds, flooding, and damage across Florida. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services estimates the total crop...

Political News

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), U.S. Representative Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), and members of the Florida delegation sent a letter to President Joe Biden requesting...

Political News

Florida’s U.S. Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging his immediate approval of the State of Florida’s...

Florida Government & Politics

As communities across Florida’s Gulf Coast recover from Hurricane Helene, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Marco Rubio and Sen. Rick Scott are meeting with...

Florida News

The Office of the Surgeon General announced a public advisory warning of alarmingly high levels of parental stress. The advisory and the Surgeon General’s accompanying op-ed, offered a...

Florida News

Florida Senator Marco Rubio (R), who serves as Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, joined Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Ranking Member of...

Healthcare

Florida Senator Rick Scott (R) joined fellow Florida Senator Marco Rubio (R, Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and 17 of their colleagues in urging Department...