Behind the Beauty: Miami’s History of Drug-Related Concerns
Since 1999, more than 1 million people have died from a drug overdose in the United States. In 2020 alone, nearly 70,000 U.S. deaths involved opioids. Florida, however, had the second highest drug poisoning mortality rates in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2020), the state saw around 7,600 deaths from drug overdose. More specifically, South Florida and Miami-Dade county are no stranger to drug-related deaths and trafficking. https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/C2Ep3/1/
Many people know Miami for its beautiful scenery and diversity, but some may be unfamiliar with its long-time involvement in Florida’s drug history, including the recent opioid epidemic (link) plaguing South Florida. Netflix’s documentary Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami covers the 1980s-1990s, when the city saw extremely high rates of both crime and drug trafficking and was deemed the “drug capital” of the United States. Drug dealers often competed for customers in the streets of Miami, and one incident led to a deadly shootout at Dadeland Mall (1979) where two men died fighting over who would “supply South Florida with cocaine.” Newspapers like The Miami Herald reported the Dadeland Mall Massacre as one of the most surprising and violent acts that South Florida had witnessed throughout the drug war.
More recently Alaska, California, Florida, and West Virginia are some of the states that have the highest drug poisoning mortality rates in the country. With more than 30 deaths within those states, the counties have gone up throughout the years. https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/qgbNx/1/
Even with the number increasing on drug related deaths, there are people that want to help addicts. Jess Tilley is a harm reduction activist that founded Harm Reduction Hedgehog. That organization focuses on raising the voices of marginalized people and to help people not harm. The harm is not only limited to drugs, but to abuse, unprotected sex, addiction, and more. Travis Lupick, Peter Krykant, and Jesse Harvey have also helped out drug users. They have books, podcasts, and etc. https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/11737556/.
According to the CDC, a little less than one million people have died from drug overdose since 1999 until now. The last time that data was updated was in June of 2022. Drug poisoning is considered the same as a drug overdose. Most of these deaths are caused by opioids. From 1999–2000 the CDC recorded more than 564,000 deaths from opioids. Opioids include and are not limited to: Oxycodone, Oxymorphone, Hydromorphone, Fentanyl, Morphine, Codeine, and Methadone.
This past June a man in South Florida was arrested for selling drugs that led to an overdose death. He was sentenced to 20 years. The police found the buyer/victim on the floor of a hotel in Florida with a needle next to him. Once they found the suspect they looked at his possessions where they found 16 capsules of suspected fentanyl, six baggies of suspected cocaine, 35 tablets of suspected Xanax, and 1k in cash. “You have to hustle, and everybody that uses drugs — who doesn’t have loads of money — hustles, ” drug abuse advocate Louise Vincent mentions.
Just like Louise, there are other advocates out there that have helped those that struggle with a deadly addiction. Ann-Marie Adker is a Miami resident that has helped out the community. She walks the streets of Miami and people consider her a mother. She uses a crime prevention group to convince residents the way to battle drug traffickers is behind the scenes. They talk about those who do and those that sell drugs to later report them. This is a matter of life and she will save them. In conclusion, drug overdose is not only an issue in Miami, it is an issue worldwide.
