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A record 4,854 Ohioans died of accidental drug overdoses last year, an increase of 20% from 2016, according to the Ohio Department of Health's final report on the impact of the AIDS crisis. opioids in 2017.
At the time of the report's publication, Governor John Kasich held a press conference Thursday to detail the progress made by state and local agencies in the fight against the epidemic. out of control. This is simply not true.
According to the state report, overdose deaths have decreased by 23% in the second half of 2017. Heads of State of Ohio's Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Department of Public Safety and the Board of Pharmacy, also explain efforts to reduce the number of prescriptions for opioids and
RELATED: Montgomery County Number One in Overdose Death Per Capita
Fentanyl was responsible for 3,431 deaths from accidental overdose in 2017, nearly three-quarters of the total. Overall, deaths related to fentanyl increased by 46% over 2016, according to the data.
Cocaine-related deaths increased 39% in 2017 to reach 1,540, while heroin-related deaths dropped 46% to 987 and fatal overdoses due to prescription opioids dropped from 7% to 523.
The report documents the amazing toll of the opioid crisis in Ohio communities, including 18,509 deaths between 2012 and 2017.
Fentanyl has been responsible for nearly three quarters of accidental overdose deaths in Ohio in 2017.
(Staff Writer)
State leaders say that some of the measures taken by the state are working. Among these, they stated: The use of Ohio's automated reporting system, which follows medication prescriptions; and limitations of opioid prescription for acute pain.
Opioid prescriptions have decreased by more than 225 million doses since 2012, leaders said at the press conference. Doctors' buying behavior has also dropped 88 percent since 2011, they said.
Kasich warned users that all types of illicit substances mix with fentanyl, and that taking any kind of street drug is like playing Russian roulette.
"You put a revolver in your head," said Kasich.
THE WAY FORWARD: Can Dayton go from "overdose capital" to a recovery model?
The Kasich administration spends more than $ 1 billion a year fighting the opioid crisis, including providing addiction treatment through the expansion of Medicaid and making naloxone available to first responders. These expenditures are worthwhile, he said, compared to the alternative costs of loss of life, incarceration and the impact of dependency, including placing more children in foster care. # 39; home.
"Do not deal with this is too expensive," he said.
The report includes previously reported figures from each county indicating that Montgomery County was once again the leader in overdose deaths with 521 in 2017. Since 2012, Montgomery County has lost 1,680 residents to an accidental overdose.
RELATED: A New Life: "Local people share their path with the depths of dependency and long-term recovery.
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