For nearly a decade, Marion County has consistently had one of the five highest drug overdose rates in the state, with the county having recorded over 1,500 overdose deaths since 2015.
According to the Florida Department of Health, the state has recorded 56,559 “age-adjusted deaths from drug poisoning” since 2015. Marion County has accounted for approximately 1,522 of those deaths.
The state considers classifies deaths from drug poisoning as those resulting from “unintentional or intentional overdose of a drug,” as well as being given the wrong drug, taking a drug in error, or taking a drug inadvertently.
“Drug poisoning deaths can be prevented. Measuring the number and rate of deaths allow public health professionals to determine locations and populations where drug poisoning deaths are the most common,” reads a statement from the state’s database.
In 2024, Marion County recorded approximately 148 overdose deaths. When adjusted for population, that amounted to 40.1 fatal overdoses for every 100,000 people. Comparatively, the state’s average overdose mortality rate in 2024 was 21.3, and the nation’s was 31.4.
The county’s mortality rate for 2024 ranks fifth among the 67 counties across the state. It trailed only Dixie County, which recorded seven deaths and had a rate of 47.9, Citrus County, which recorded 60 deaths and a rate of 43.5, and Walton and Suwannee, which both recorded rates of 40.2.
Marion County reported over 200 overdose deaths in both 2022 (209) and 2023 (210). That ranked the county third and sixth among the county’s 67 counties for those years, respectively.
In 2021, the county recorded 193 overdose deaths and in 2020, it recorded 190. Both of rates for those years were among the state’s top five highest county rates.
The last time Marion County recorded fewer than 100 overdose deaths was 2015, when there were 50 fatal overdoses.
In fact, before 2015, the county recorded under 50 overdose deaths every year dating back to 2007, according to the data most readily available through the health department’s website.
In a statement posted on social media recently, Ocala Mayor Ben Marciano indicated that the Ocala Police Department has responded to over 1,600 overdose incidents since beginning its drug amnesty program in early 2018. At least 261 of those incidents have resulted in deaths, according to Marciano.
If you or someone you know is battling addiction, find help through the Marion County Hospital District’s Substance Use Treatment Resources Directory.