Florida Attorney General Issues Dire Warning For Travel To Disney World This Spring Break

Even though we like to believe that Walt Disney World is a world apart, we tend to bring our problems with us when we go, especially if that problem happens to be an addiction to drugs. As it turns out, Florida leads the nation as the state where people die the most from a drug overdose during a vacation.

During a news conference this week, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody issued a dire warning to those coming to Florida and Walt Disney World.

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Attorney General Moody warned against what she called “fake pills.” They are being sold as “party drugs” but are fully laced with fentanyl. A study that the attorney general shared said that seven out of 10 of these pills have lethal amounts of fentanyl in them.

To combat this problem, Attorney General Moody announced that she is giving local law enforcement more resources to help fight opioid overdoses in the state. Law enforcement across Florida, including at Disney World, will be given Narcan, which helps to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

The Problem in Florida

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said at her press conference that the United States saw 112,000 opioid overdose deaths last year. According to a study from Penn State University, people on vacation in Florida were 63 percent more likely to die from an overdose there than anywhere else in America.

Llan Shrira, the study’s lead author, said:

Roughly 15% to 20% of Americans die outside of their home county. Fewer Americans die outside their home state. Our methodology allowed us to look at people who resided outside of Florida but who died in the state and narrow the cause of death to drug poisoning. And when you compare the visitors to Florida and visitors to any other state, the proportion of deaths due to overdoses is much higher – 63% higher – among visitors to Florida compared to all the other people in the United States who died outside their home state.

But why is all of this happening in Florida? For years, Florida was ground zero for the opioid crisis in America, with thousands of pill mills operating out of the state. But now, Florida has become the home to several unlicensed rehab clinics that have lured guests to that state but offer them little help in beating their addiction.

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Shira continued:

People looking to get help for a substance use disorder were being lured to Florida by deceptive marketing by people who may have no interest in helping them, putting many at an increased risk of a fatal overdose. The authorities have cracked down on some of these practices and have made some high-profile arrests and prosecutions, but there are many reports that it’s still happening. Anyone in the U.S. who considers traveling to enter a treatment clinic far from their home should be extra careful about what type of place they are actually going to, and have a ready way to get back home if needed

Attorney General Moody says that if people want help with their opioid addiction, they should contact the Treatment Atlas Website. 

We will continue to update this story at Disney Fanatic.