TITUSVILLE, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a dramatic decline in drug-related deaths on Wednesday during a news conference at the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office in Titusville.
The announcement coincided with the release of the Florida Medical Examiner Commission’s 2025 Interim Drugs Identified in Deceased Persons report, which showed statewide drug-related deaths fell 19%. Fentanyl-caused deaths dropped 46%, opioid deaths declined 42%, cocaine deaths decreased 24%, and meth-related deaths fell more than 31%.
“That is a huge, huge success story, and everybody that’s been involved in that should be awfully proud to see that,” DeSantis said.
Officials credited the state’s full-spectrum approach — including the SAFE grant program, Florida Highway Patrol interdiction operations, and cartel-targeted enforcement — for driving the results.
DeSantis also used the event to pressure the Florida Legislature, currently in special session on the state budget, to approve $13.5 million in pay increases for sworn state law enforcement officers and more than $11 million for a Florida Highway Patrol career development plan.
“It’s a time to not just say you support law enforcement, but step up and show in your actions that you do that,” DeSantis said.