Quick answer
Heroin deaths in Miami-Dade have fallen sharply as fentanyl replaced the drug supply. In the first six months of 2025, the Miami medical examiner district recorded 5 deaths with heroin. Medication - buprenorphine, methadone, or naltrexone - remains the standard treatment, and 8 federally certified opioid treatment programs sit within 30 miles of downtown. Here is how to start.
Heroin has largely disappeared from Florida's overdose statistics - not because dependence on it disappeared, but because fentanyl has replaced it in the drug supply. In the first six months of 2025, the Miami medical examiner district recorded 5 heroin-caused deaths, while the same report counted fentanyl as the leading opioid killer statewide. If you are still using heroin, or using it alongside pressed pills, the medical answer is the same: medication like buprenorphine or methadone, started as soon as possible. Miami has one of the largest medication networks in Florida, including 8 federally certified opioid treatment programs within 30 miles of downtown.
Where do I start heroin treatment in Miami?
It depends on whether your body is physically dependent. If you feel sick - sweats, aches, nausea, sleeplessness - when you stop, medication is the safest start: buprenorphine (Suboxone) or methadone, both available at clinics across Miami-Dade. If you are not dependent, an assessment can point to counseling or outpatient care first. Either way, get naloxone into the house today; the acute danger with heroin is an accidental overdose, often from fentanyl you did not know was there.
What Miami-Dade's numbers show
Florida's medical examiners distinguish between drugs that caused a death and drugs merely present in the body. The 2025 interim report from the Medical Examiners Commission shows how far heroin has fallen locally:
- District 11 (Miami-Dade) recorded 5 deaths with heroin in January through June 2025 - all 5 caused by heroin, none present-only.
- Statewide, heroin appeared in 25 deaths in the same period, down 37.5% from the first half of 2024.
- The report notes heroin is likely under-reported because it metabolizes rapidly to morphine, which can shift deaths into the morphine category.
- For comparison, the 2024 annual report counted 266 deaths with fentanyl present in Miami-Dade, with 227 caused by fentanyl.
The pattern is clear: people who once bought heroin are now buying fentanyl, often without knowing it. NIDA explains that illegally made fentanyl is commonly mixed into or sold as other drugs, including heroin. That is why treatment for "heroin use" in Miami today usually means treatment for opioid use disorder generally - and why naloxone matters even if you think you know what you are taking.
Medication for heroin dependence near Miami
Medication for opioid use disorder is the standard of care, and NIDA lists three FDA-approved options:
- Methadone - a full agonist that relieves withdrawal and cravings; dispensed daily at a certified opioid treatment program.
- Buprenorphine - a partial agonist, taken as a daily film or tablet or a monthly injection; any prescriber with a standard DEA registration can prescribe it, with no federal waiver or patient cap.
- Naltrexone - a monthly injection that blocks opioid effects; started only after opioids have cleared your body, or it will trigger withdrawal.
A FindTreatment.gov search within 30 miles of downtown Miami (ZIP 33130), pulled in October 2026, returned:
- 8 federally certified opioid treatment programs (OTPs)
- 44 programs using buprenorphine and 50 using naltrexone
- 13 programs listing opioid detoxification
- 75 outpatient and 36 intensive outpatient (IOP) programs
- 68 offering telehealth
Thriving Mind South Florida, the South Florida Behavioral Health Network, is the Department of Children and Families Managing Entity that coordinates publicly funded behavioral health care in Miami-Dade. If you are uninsured, ask it about Managing Entity-funded and sliding-fee options. Confirm openings on the locator rather than treating any directory as a live bed list.
Nationally, SAMHSA's 2023 survey estimated about 660,000 people aged 12 or older used heroin in the past year - a fraction of the millions who misuse opioids overall. Locally, the numbers are small but the risk is not: heroin withdrawal is miserable but rarely fatal; the days afterward, when tolerance has dropped, are when overdose happens.
Paying for heroin treatment in Miami
Florida Medicaid, administered by AHCA, covers medically necessary substance use treatment - including medication for opioid use disorder - for eligible members through Statewide Medicaid Managed Care plans such as Sunshine Health, Simply Healthcare, Humana, Aetna Better Health, UnitedHealthcare, Molina, and AmeriHealth Caritas Florida. Confirm which plans serve your ZIP and whether the provider is in network. Florida has not expanded Medicaid, so many low-income adults fall into a coverage gap - 18.9% of Miami residents under 65 are uninsured (U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 estimates). If you are uninsured, Thriving Mind South Florida can point you to publicly funded and sliding-fee options.
Naloxone and staying safer right now
Naloxone reverses an opioid overdose and works on heroin and fentanyl alike. In Florida, a statewide standing order lets any pharmacy dispense naloxone without a personal prescription, and it is also sold over the counter. Keep it where the people around you can find it, and make sure they know how to use it.
If someone overdoses:
- Call 911 immediately and report a suspected overdose.
- Give naloxone - it will not harm someone who is not overdosing.
- Stay with them until help arrives; naloxone can wear off before the opioids do.
For a crisis that is not a medical emergency - including your own - call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
How to start today
- If someone is overdosing, call 911 and give naloxone.
- Call or text (800) 653-9376 to talk with a treatment specialist about options near you, or use the lead form on this page.
- Search FindTreatment.gov with ZIP 33130 and filter for opioid treatment programs or buprenorphine.
- Ask each program two questions: Can I start medication this week? and Do you take my insurance, or offer a sliding fee?
- Pick up naloxone at any Florida pharmacy while you wait.
Heroin dependence is an opioid use disorder, and it responds to the same medications that treat fentanyl and prescription opioid dependence. Miami-Dade has more certified treatment capacity than most of Florida - the hardest part is usually the first call, not the wait. Other Heroin treatment in Florida: Heroin treatment in Daytona Beach, Florida, Heroin treatment in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Heroin treatment in Fort Myers, Florida, Heroin treatment in Gainesville, Florida, Heroin treatment in Jacksonville, Florida, Heroin treatment in Lakeland, Florida, Heroin treatment in Ocala, Florida, Heroin treatment in Orlando, Florida, Heroin treatment in Pensacola, Florida, Heroin treatment in Sarasota, Florida, Heroin treatment in St Petersburg, Florida, Heroin treatment in Tallahassee, Florida.
Last updated: Wed Oct 21 2026 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
Frequently asked questions
Is heroin treatment in Miami different from fentanyl treatment?
No. Heroin and fentanyl are both opioids, and the same three FDA-approved medications - methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone - treat dependence on either drug. Florida's medical examiner report notes that heroin is often replaced in the drug supply by fentanyl, which killed far more people in Miami-Dade than heroin in recent years.
How many heroin deaths were there in Miami-Dade County?
In the first six months of 2025, the Miami medical examiner district recorded 5 deaths with heroin, all determined to be heroin-caused, according to the Florida Medical Examiners Commission interim drug report. Statewide, heroin was present in 25 deaths in the same period. Heroin is under-reported because it metabolizes quickly to morphine, and fentanyl has largely replaced it in the illicit supply.
Where can I get methadone or buprenorphine in Miami?
A FindTreatment.gov search within 30 miles of downtown Miami in October 2026 found 8 federally certified opioid treatment programs that dispense methadone, 44 programs using buprenorphine, and 50 using naltrexone. Counts change as programs open and close, so confirm current openings on the locator or by phone.
Does Florida Medicaid cover heroin treatment?
Florida Medicaid, run by the Agency for Health Care Administration, covers medically necessary substance use treatment, including medication for opioid use disorder, through Statewide Medicaid Managed Care plans such as Sunshine Health, Simply Healthcare, Humana, and Aetna Better Health. Florida has not expanded Medicaid, so many adults do not qualify; ask Thriving Mind South Florida, the county's Managing Entity, about publicly funded options.
What should I do if someone overdoses on heroin?
Call 911 immediately and give naloxone if you have it. Naloxone reverses an opioid overdose, including heroin and fentanyl, and will not harm someone who is not overdosing. Florida's statewide standing order lets pharmacies dispense naloxone without a personal prescription, and it is also sold over the counter. For a mental health or substance use crisis, call or text 988.