Report: Ohio ground-zero for opioid overdose deaths
Original article found at Cleveland.com. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Ohio saw more opioid overdose deaths than anywhere else in the nation in 2014, and the numbers continue to rise, according to a recent report. The Buckeye State topped the list of opioid overdose deaths among all 50 states, racking up 2,106 deaths in 2014, the report from The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation says. The troubling statistics place the state at the heart of the country's opioid epidemic. The only other state that came close to Ohio's numbers in 2014 was California, at 2,024 deaths. The statistic is more staggering because the state of California [...]
Heroin, fentanyl kills 42 in Cuyahoga County in November, medical examiner says
Original Article from Cleveland.com CLEVELAND, Ohio -- At least 42 people died after overdosing on heroin, fentanyl or a combination of the two last month in Cuyahoga County, the medical examiner's office said. The county has now seen more than 500 people die of overdoses in 2016, more than double the 228 who died in 2015, Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner Thomas Gilson said Tuesday in a statement. "In early 2017, the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office will issue a final summary for the year," Gilson said. "It has been consistently clear that 2016 has been an unprecedented year for drug-related [...]
Heroin’s human toll: A month in the life of a Lyndhurst addict fighting to live
Original article from Cleveland.com CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Bryan Smith's mother forced him into rehab at the age of 15 when she discovered that he smoked marijuana. That was not the drug that would put him on the path to heroin addiction. That drug was a muscle relaxer prescribed to him that same year by his doctor to treat his back problems. Now 32, Smith has been a heroin addict for nearly half his life. It culminated Sept. 11 when he decided he was ready to die. He snorted and shot up enough heroin to kill himself. His mother found him [...]
Battling the Heroin Crisis
Letter from the City of Lyndhurst Chief of Police, Rick Porrello Overdoses from the powerful opiate drug heroin and its chemical cousins are taking Greater Cleveland lives at an unprecedented level. The synthetic opiate fentanyl is increasingly the villain in these tragic deaths. It is 50 to 100 times stronger than heroin. And if that’s not bad enough, now carfentanil, an anesthetic for very large animals, has appeared on our streets. Carfentanil is 100 times more powerful than fentanyl. This public health crisis is taking our family members, friends, neighbors and colleagues. And it is at our doorstep. On a [...]
Treatment operator talks setting up in Brunswick
Original article can be found at the Medina Gazette. Jose Flores, a case management supervisor for Fortaleza Treatment Centers, which deals with opiate addition, said his job at times is “very gratifying.” Flores, who spoke at the Medina County commissioners meeting Tuesday, recalled a conversation he had with one of Fortaleza’s clients. “She told me she was going to spend Christmas with her kids sober for the first time in 40 years,” he said. “It blew me away. I was floored.” Flores said the woman still attends Fortaleza’s recovery maintenance program and is doing well. “My job has its moments,” [...]
5 Ways to Prevent Accidental Overdose
By Best Drug Rehabilitation Addiction can lead to a great many serious repercussions as an individual continues to abuse that substance, whether it be prescription drugs, alcohol, marijuana, or other illicit drugs. An addict’s life can begin to function purely around the substance, while everything else is neglected. When a person is so enveloped by a substance, they can begin to consume it to the extent that it becomes dangerous to their health. This can lead to a word that no one ever likes to hear – overdose. The Prevalence of Overdose Overdose is unfortunately a condition in which many [...]