"We begin this week with a success story: How one state tackled the problem of prescription drug overdoses and is making progress," says host Barbara Lewis.
Interview highlights
Jim Hall: In 2010, there were just with opioids alone, over 6,600 opioids detected in deceased persons .. and in many cases, more than one opioid present in the same decedent.
Lewis: Dr. Jim Hall is an epidemiologist who studies substance abuse in Florida.
Hall: Throughout the first decade of the new century, Florida saw increasing levels of prescription opioid related death each year, really peaking in 2010.
Lewis: Since that year, there's been a turnaround. According to the CDC, Florida has taken steps that have led to a 23% drop in the death rate from prescription drugs.
Dr. Jim Hall is an epidemiologist and the co-director of the Center for Applied Research on Substance Abuse and Health Disparities at Nova Southeastern University.