Overview
- DeSantis, who presented the FDLE’s interim medical‑examiner report Wednesday in Titusville, said drug deaths fell 19% in January through June 2025 with opioid deaths down 42% and fentanyl deaths down 46%.
- State leaders credited targeted crackdowns, citing the SAFE grant program that funds large fentanyl investigations and reporting about 3,000 arrests, 600 pounds of fentanyl, 65,000 pills, $6.4 million in cash, and more than 970 guns seized.
- The governor pressed lawmakers in a budget special session for a 5% raise for sworn officers and a pay hike for correctional officers from $22 to $28 an hour along with hundreds of new prison jobs and added support for Highway Patrol career development.
- Officials also pointed to wider access to the overdose antidote Narcan and tougher penalties for drug dealers as measures they say reduced fatalities.
- FDLE says fentanyl deaths have fallen from a 2021 peak of 5,791 to about 1,500, and the figures come from an interim report not yet posted online as CDC provisional data show a near 14% national decline last year.