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Ocala Police Start "Opioid Amnesty" Program

Courtesy frankieleon / Creative Commons -- http://j.mp/1SPGCl0
Courtesy frankieleon / Creative Commons -- http://j.mp/1SPGCl0

A new “opioid amnesty program” in Ocala is for people wanting help from addiction. Police said seven people have died this year in Ocala because of opioid overdoses.

OPD spokeswoman Meghan Shay said the new program started this week.

“They can call us and we’ll respond to their home or wherever they are, if they have drugs and paraphernalia in their possession at that time, we will take that and destroy it. There will be no criminal charges for whatever they have on them and we will connect them with a treatment provider,” said Shay.

But if people are caught with illegal drugs they will still go to jail. This is only for people actively seeking help from police.

Police said the number of deaths this year from opioids could have been higher, but two people were saved with Narcan—a medication that reverses the effects of overdose.

Last year 16 people died of opioid overdose in Ocala.