Gov. DeSantis announces plans for more than $205 million from opioid settlement
TAMPA, Fla. - Governor Ron DeSantis was in Destin Friday to announce plans for more than $205 million from the opioid settlement agreement.
Last August, the governor announced a new "substance recovery network" called the "CORE" network, and the money will go toward that network.
It’ll establish the Office of Opioid Recovery within the Department of Children and Families.
Governor DeSantis says he wants to stop illicit drugs from entering our state, hold dealers accountable, educate Floridians on the dangers of opioids, and provide treatment that breaks addiction. The plan also calls for more data collection, so the state can better track the effectiveness of its treatment programs.
"We think that this will make a difference. If you look at some of the things that we’ve done leading up to this point, we’re always trying to figure out how can we do better, how can we get ahead of these problems," Governor DeSantis said.
MORE: Florida appoints first-ever ‘director of opioid recovery’ to help combat addiction
The opioid crisis has also triggered another crisis across the nation. The dangers of fentanyl, a narcotic that as been showing up in drugs like heroin, marijuana, and cocaine. A tiny dose of fentanyl can be enough to kill a human.
FOX 13 spoke to Sally del Castillo in Winter Haven, who lost her best friend to a fentanyl overdose. Del Castillo hopes this large investment by the state will help provide more resources and prevent more deaths from happening.
"I think that having the supplies and the education, and I really felt like the detectives could’ve done more when it comes to finding the source of where this horrible, evil thing came from that killed my best friend," del Castillo said.
To learn more about the CORE Network, visit www.flcorenetwork.com.