Governor Ron DeSantis signs bill targeting opioid use

Share
Narcan
Narcan. By Seán Kinane / WMNF News (March 2024).

Listen:

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill Monday sponsored by a Tampa lawmaker cracking down on its use.

Governor DeSantis joined Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo and others in Sanford to sign Senate Bill 718 into law.

The bill, sponsored by Tampa Republican Senator Jay Collins, increases penalties on individuals who expose law enforcement officers to fentanyl.

“If an officer says ‘do you have drugs in your possession?” and you lie, and then the officer ends up getting exposed and harmed, we’re going to throw the book at you and we’re going to hold you accountable.”

According to the Washington State Department of Health, there is no evidence of first responders experiencing an overdose from secondhand fentanyl exposure.

DeSantis also announced the expansion of CORE, a substance abuse treatment program, from 12 to 28 counties in Florida.

Ladapo repeatedly spoke against transgender athletes while talking about the program to help those struggling with drug addiction.

But, neither of the bills signed had anything to do with transgender policies.

“When there’s a window where that person wants help, they can reach out and get some help, and that’s why CORE has been successful. It’s really just common sense, thinking about the problem, thinking about the solution. And the solution is not having boys playing on girls sports.”

DeSantis also signed Senate Bill 66 into law, raising awareness of opioid overdoses and counteractants.

Leave a Reply

  • (will not be published)

XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

You may also like

student meal
Next school year Hillsborough public schools are offering free meals

Hillsborough Public Schools are offering students free meals for the...

Correspondence Through Poetry. A Mind-Numbing Week.

Father Verses Sons: A Correspondence in Poems by Herbert Gold...

The sound of change: Music’s influence on anti-war and human rights movements

Throughout history, music has served as a powerful catalyst for...

a man in a tye dye shirt talking on a radio microphone
Recreational pot for Florida is on the ballot this fall—let’s talk about it

In four months, Florida voters have the opportunity to vote...

Ways to listen

WMNF is listener-supported. That means we don't advertise like a commercial station, and we're not part of a university.

Ways to support

WMNF volunteers have fun providing a variety of needed services to keep your community radio station alive and kickin'.

Follow us on Instagram

The Righteous Rockers Experience
Player position: