Pubdate: Thu, 08 May 2014
Source: Miami Student, The (OH Edu)
Copyright: 2014 The Miami Student
Contact:  http://www.miamistudent.net/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4125
Author: Rebecca Eldemire

OXFORD HEROIN PROBLEM PERSISTS

Less than two years ago, the death of 21-year-old Miami student Andy 
Supronas became the first public case of heroin use within Miami University.

"That was one of the first publicly-known issues," said Lt. Jacob 
Jones of the Oxford Police Department (OPD). "We've had more [issues] 
since then."

March 1 of this year, the Butler County Coroner reported the death of 
an Oxford man from a fentanyl overdose, a prescription opiate 
commonly found in or as a replacement for heroin.

"When [I] first started police work, heroin was not around here," Jones said.

He said within the past five years, there has been a measurable 
increase in heroin use in Oxford.

Butler County coroner, Dr. Lisa Mannix, verified it is a growing 
issue. She said within the first quarter of 2014 alone, there were 
114 total deaths, 50 of which were from drug overdoses; 21 of those 
involved heroin. This is a 139 percent increase from last year.

Oxford and Butler County are beginning to mirror statewide statistics 
as well. The Ohio Attorney General's office reported that in 2013, 
heroin killed 12 Ohioans each week, over half of which were young 
adults aged 15 to 19. In 2010, there were 292 heroin overdose deaths, 
in 2011 there were 395 and in 2012 there were 606. The Attorney 
General's Office reports that there has been a 107 percent increase 
in heroin deaths in more than half of Ohio's counties.

Yet still, these statistics are incomplete. Jones said many of the 
overdoses and health issues are largely undocumented. Many group 
situations exist, Jones said, where one user will overdose, a friend 
will call 9-1-1, dispose of the evidence and by the time the 
paramedics arrive, there are no traces to follow and charge.

Paramedics also quickly administer Narcan, a drug that almost 
instantaneously reverses the effects of heroin in the bloodstream, 
erasing any traces, which Jones attributes to the low amount of 
pursued cases and deaths.

"More students have overdosed [since Supronas died] and lived because 
of [Narcan]," Jones said. "[These cases are not] going to be reported 
because it is a medical issue and there is no evidence left. Narcan 
is an amazing thing to see work, it's like a magnet that goes through 
your body and picks up all of the opiates and flushes it out aE& I 
could have sworn that the person was dead, [but] the fire department 
comes in, shoots that through an IV aE& and the person wakes up."

Wednesday, April 23, there was a town hall meeting at Talawanda High 
School concerning opiate use in Oxford. At the meeting, a panel 
including Chief Bob Holzworth of the Oxford Police Department, Miami 
University Police Chief John McCandless and Dr. Joshua Hersh, a staff 
psychiatrist at Miami University Student Counseling Service, spoke to 
concerned members of the community about the issue.

Holzworth said the fire department has administered Narcan 24 times 
in 2013. It has been used 11 times in Oxford.

"I was not aware that they had made that many heroin-related calls," 
McCandless said. "I think based on our not having much contact with 
it, my knowledge is what I have read in the paper."

He said he was surprised by the numbers shared during the meeting and 
yet MUPD has not dealt with any reported cases of heroin.

"I haven't seen it on campus and I hope that I won't," McCandless said.

Jones said students and community residents are likely getting 
addicted through prescription opiates that someone receives after 
surgery or for intense pain, but the police department has "cracked 
down on prescription drug abuse, which has turned the market more 
toward heroin."

According to Miami's Alcohol EDU for College 2012 data, about 1 
percent of first-year students reported in the previous two weeks 
they had used opiate-type drugs such as codeine, OxyContin, Darvon, 
Vicodin, Dilaudid, Demeril, Lomotil, Percocet or Percodan.

"Reasons a student aEor anyone may use opiates include 
self-medicating for pain, recreationally and to stop withdrawal 
symptoms when he or she is chemically dependent," Hersh said. "Any 
addiction to a substance is very likely to affect schoolwork."

If students are having issues, Director of Student Wellness Rebecca 
Baudry said the counseling center offers support groups for students 
in recovery.

"They also have a full time staff psychiatrist that specializes in 
substance abuse and medically assisted treatment for students with 
heroine or other opiate-type drug addiction," Baudry said.

"I would like to see continued education about substances of abuse," 
Hersh said. "I would like to see continued Town Hall Meetings. I 
would like to continue to help make people aware that there is 
treatment available for a substance use problem."

This problem is no longer far away; it is here in Oxford more than ever before.

"In this town nothing beats alcohol," Jones said, "but heroin comes 
in as a distant second ... You may not think you know someone who is 
addicted but this heroin epidemic we have had in the last few years 
does not discriminate."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom