Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Wednesday announced an initiative to help end drug addiction in the Sunshine State, detailing what has been described as an “expansion of a new, piloted substance abuse and recovery network to disrupt the opioid epidemic” in President Biden’s open borders America.

The network, dubbed Coordinated Opioid Recovery (CORE), is what the governor’s office describes as the “first of its kind in the nation,” coordinated between the Department of Health and Department of Children and Families.

“This is an approach that was pioneered in Florida,” DeSantis said during Wednesday’s press conference. “You will hear from a couple of the speakers about what was done in Palm Beach County.”

The governor said officials are taking that model, which has had success in Palm Beach County, and bringing it to 12 additional counties — those that have “demonstrated need for the services, that … have existing programs that can serve as a foundation” and “have strong interest from community partners and they are actively interested in supporting the network,” according to the governor. 

“The three-pronged approach to recovery includes, yes, the important rescue response that our EMTs do … and long-term treatment so that they can live productive lives without constantly relapsing and staying on this hamster wheel of addiction,” he explained.

“We don’t want Floridians to receive overdose treatment and then simply be sent back into the world for this to happen all over again. So we’re trying to give them the tools they need to navigate their path to a productive, drug-free future,” DeSantis said, explaining that the network “will be overseen by Florida’s first statewide director of opioid recovery, Dr. Courtney Phillips.

DeSantis noted during the press conference that fentanyl remains a major issue, as the state is experiencing more fentanyl overdoses “than we ever have” seen. 

“Fentanyl overdoses account for almost 70 percent of all overdoses in the state of Florida,” he said, pointing to the uphill battle law enforcement faces with the high threat of drug trafficking, particularly with the continuation of President Biden’s open border policies. 

“Don’t let anybody tell you that that open border is not affecting our communities,” the governor said. “Here in the state of Florida, it is having a devastating impact.”

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