Pubdate: Sun, 27 Apr 2014
Source: Blade, The (Toledo, OH)
Copyright: 2014 The Blade
Contact:  http://www.toledoblade.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/48
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?132 (Heroin Overdose)

EXPLODING EPIDEMIC

The latest figures on heroin overdoses confirm the breadth of Ohio's 
opioid epidemic and the need for more treatment

Newly released figures from the Ohio Department of Health show a 
spike in fatal heroin overdoses. That should push policymakers and 
politicians to expand the state's inadequate treatment network, which 
now serves only about one in 10 of those who need help.

Heroin overdose deaths in Ohio rose nearly 60 percent in 2012, while 
the number of deaths from prescription pills dropped for the first 
time in more than a decade. Ohio's 680 heroin-related deaths in 2012, 
reported last week, represent the latest official count.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine told The Blade's editorial page 
that he estimates, from a separate tally his office compiles, that at 
least 1,000 such deaths occurred in 2013.

"There are still communities, particularly in the suburbs, that act 
surprised when I tell them they have a heroin problem," he said. "But 
they shouldn't."

An estimated 80 percent of the state's heroin addicts started their 
habit with prescription painkillers. Much of the heroin and opioid 
legislation before the General Assembly aims to tighten controls on 
the dispensing and monitoring of prescription drugs such as Vicodin, 
OxyContin, and Percocet.

Such measures are needed to ensure that patients use these 
prescription drugs safely, understand their risks, and don't divert 
them to the street, where they are sold illicitly. Even so, publicity 
about such abuse and more aggressive sanctions by the Ohio State 
Medical Association have alleviated the problem.

Prescriptions for dangerously high levels of opioids dropped more 
than 40 percent between 2011 and 2013. The health department reports 
that deaths from accidental overdoses of prescription opioids dropped 
nearly 12 percent in 2012, from 789 a year earlier to 697.

"The bad news is that many of those already addicted have switched to 
heroin," Mr. DeWine said. He acknowledged that successful state 
efforts in 2011 to close the state's pill mills could have 
accelerated the epidemic's shift to heroin. "Law enforcement has a 
role, but it's clear we don't have enough treatment in the state, and 
it's clear we don't have enough on the prevention side," he said.

State lawmakers and Gov. John Kasich need to ensure that more of the 
state's estimated 200,000 opioid addicts get the help they need. That 
will also reduce the demand for illicit prescription painkillers and heroin.

Still, only one of the 13 opioid and heroin bills in the General 
Assembly deals seriously with treatment. House Bill 369, sponsored by 
state Rep. Robert Sprague, (R., Findlay), would allocate nearly $200 
million for recovery housing and case managers in specialty drug courts.

"We can't arrest our way out of the problem," said Mr. DeWine, who 
last fall launched a heroin unit to help local law enforcement 
agencies catch major dealers. "The counties that have made the most 
progress on this have involved churches, businesses, average 
citizens, victims - the entire community."

Prevention is as important as treatment, and often costs little. Mr. 
DeWine said he heard a proposal at a town hall meeting for a 
state-sponsored Web site on opioid addiction that would list 
resources, provide general information, and outline prevention strategies.

Schools also need to do a better job of educating students about 
drugs, from kindergarten to 12th grade. "I'm not blaming anyone, but 
I don't know anywhere where students are getting 13 years of 
appropriate education on drugs," Mr. DeWine said.

Heroin and opioid addiction have become a dangerous public health 
problem in Ohio, as the latest overdose figures show. State lawmakers 
have acted in a constructive, bipartisan way, but they must do more 
to get to the root of the problem: treating addictions that destroy 
and ruin lives while creating an insatiable demand for illicit drugs.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom