After five years of sharply climbing death rates due to heroin overdoses, the number actually dropped by 8 percent last year.

"I am optimistic that we have set a new trend," says Jim McDonough, director of the Florida Office of Drug Control.

He attributes the decrease in fatal heroin overdoses to an increased emphasis on law enforcement, treatment and prevention.

"We mounted an effort to see how much heroin and other drugs was flowing into Florida, who the traffickers were and how it was landing here," he says. "It took seven months, and we came up with a better picture, which allowed us to put more agents where we thought they would be most effective.

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