JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The number of drug- and alcohol-related deaths in Jacksonville has jumped significantly in the last year, according to data from the medical examiner's office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
In 2016, number of people who died from overdoses in Duval County were up 72 percent from the year before. Data shows there were 345 overdose deaths from January to the end of October 2016 compared to 2015 when there were 201.
City Councilman Bill Gulliford said Tuesday that the statistics are even more alarming than the number of murders and homicides in Jacksonville. There were 120 homicides in 2016.
"We make a big deal about the number of homicides. My God, when you talk about three times the number of homicides in drug-related overdoses," Gulliford said.
That's why Gulliford is sending out a wake-up call to the City Council, saying action needs to be taken to address the problem. As for what steps need to be taken, he said, that's up for discussion.
"I think it's ripping at the fabric of our society and look at the huge cost related to all of that -- the treatment of it, the handling of it. Every one of those drug overdose deaths have to be handled by the medical examiner's office. You are talking about a significant cost in lives and society, financial cost. I think it's not being recognized," Guillford said. "I was appalled at the number of deaths."
Of the 2016 overdose deaths in Duval County, 68 percent were males and the majority -- 86 percent -- were white, according to the data from FDLE and medical examiner's office.
While the increase may be a surprise to the City Council, those who treat patients, like Dr. Brian Jackson at the Greenfield Center, said they've been watching it happen.
"We have been here 28 years -- 2016 has been our biggest census in 28 years. That is a pretty good indication that this is becoming a real problem that needs to be addressed on many levels and there needs to be a real awareness of it. Just here in Jacksonville, the number of deaths have gone up substantially -- 100 percent in some areas," Jackson said.
Many would think it would be younger people dying from overdosing, but the data show that's not the case. The majority fall into the age bracket of 30- to 39-year-olds, followed by 50- to 59-year-olds.