Western Pennsylvania among parts of country sees dangerous increase in opioid epidemic

At the height of the covid-19 pandemic, it seemed like the opioid epidemic had suddenly stopped – largely because headlines about coronaviruses dominated newsstands, TV shows and conversations. daily.

The latest overdose death figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, convey a starkly opposite truth.

More than 93,000 people died of drug overdoses in 2020 – the highest number on record and a staggering 30% jump from 2019 due to the prevalence of deadly fentanyl and pandemic-induced causes, according to the CDC.

“In today’s world, when you mess up, you are dead,” said Rich Jones, board member of Greensburg-based Sage’s Army, of the increased lethality of substances. over time. “It’s almost beyond comprehension. How do you fight this when people can’t even take a wrong step? … This is not how recovery works.

Sage’s Army is a community-based recovery organization that provides services to people with substance use disorders.

Before Ken Bacha became County Coroner in 2001, his father held the position for 24 years.

“You can count on one hand” the number of opioid deaths that have occurred during this time period, Bacha said last week as a panelist at the Western Pennsylvania Drug Summit 2021 held at Saint Vincent College.

Opioid-related deaths peaked in Westmoreland County in 2017, reaching 193. The number declined to 122 and 115, respectively, in 2018 and 2019. Last year, there were 123.

The number of overdose deaths in 2021 is on track to hit 188, almost on par with the 2017 record, Bacha said. As of July 9, 65 drug and alcohol overdoses had been confirmed this year, including 29 awaiting toxicology and autopsy.

“I don’t really see what would stop this right now,” Jones said. “I don’t see how these trends won’t continue unless we do something drastic.”

In Allegheny County, overdose deaths also peaked in 2017 at 737. The 689 overdose deaths were the second highest in a decade, after falling to 492 and 571, respectively, in 2018 and 2019.

Of the 689 fatal overdoses in 2020, 77% of victims had fentanyl in their system.

Deadly fentanyl

The main drivers of the 30% increase in overdose deaths nationwide are illicitly manufactured fentanyl, the increase in prescription pain medications and methamphetamine, said Regina Labelle, acting director of the Bureau of the White House’s national drug control policy.

Labelle delivered a pre-recorded message to the regional drug summit, which was held at the Fred Rogers Center on Wednesday. When speaking at the summit in 2012, she said the nationwide drug overdose death toll was around 20,000, a number mostly due to prescription opioids, not fentanyl.

“(We’re) not sure what 2021 will bring, but we know the drug supply continues to contain a lot of fentanyl,” Labelle said. “Synthetic opioids are present in almost all overdose deaths. ”

Labelle said she and others working closely with the outbreak must be “aware” of the new synthetic drugs that are emerging, and she said she believes covid-19 has “exacerbated” the rates. of overdose.

“I think it was predictable,” Jones said of the 2020 overdose count. “We really don’t have a good infrastructure in place to get in touch with people to start with, and then when you take out (l ‘in-person interaction), you really end up with nothing. ”

Carmen Capozzi, founder of Sage’s Army, said he believes that not being able to connect with people throughout the pandemic is not ideal and that isolation is not optimal for those struggling with it. substance use disorders.

“I don’t think we’ve seen the full impact of this yet,” Jones said. “(There will be) yet (there will be) a longer term effect of stress and anxiety around the pandemic – depression, isolation – all of that drives use.”

Jones said, however, that telehealth and telephone interventions via technology throughout the pandemic “could be a lasting positive effect”.

Overdose deaths “among communities of color” have also increased in recent years, Labelle said, and she said she believes the United States “cannot stop (its) exit from the epidemic.”

“Treatment alone isn’t going to stop this either,” Labelle said, and she believes opioid-related deaths would decrease if addicts were treated while incarcerated.

Capozzi agreed and said he believed that a reintegration program should be widely implemented during the period of incarceration of drug addicts so that they would not reuse after release. Involving the family of an addict in the process can improve the chances of recovery, he said.

Jones said ideally he thinks the changes should include on-demand access to detox and treatment without a waitlist, expanding Narcan distribution, better access to drug-assisted treatment and more recovery centers.

“When it comes to publicly funded treatment, you can’t always access it,” Jones said. “There will always be a need for more immediate access to treatment. ”

According to the Addiction Center, 90% of the nearly 21 million Americans with at least one addiction are not receiving treatment.

Jones said what really needs to happen is a “radical culture change” in how the opioid epidemic is handled. He said he believed the only way to achieve this would be a “500% increase” or “billions of dollars” in recovery and support services if the United States “ever wanted to get ahead of that” .

“What would help is an army of recovery coaches,” he said.

Jones said he was “hopeful”. Sage’s Army began receiving funding in 2019 after it opened in 2012.

“This idea of ​​supporting long-term recovery from places like Sage’s Army is a new and emerging trend,” Jones said. “We feel like this is the future. We need more places like this in my opinion.

Capozzi said he believes the most important part of recovery is tracking and connecting, which he said was a top priority for Sage’s army.

“(The) shame, guilt and stigma (stop) when they walk through that door,” Capozzi said of the center.

A decade later

The 2021 Western Pennsylvania Drug Summit was the first since 2012 due to the schedule and covid-19, organizers said.

“The presence of drugs has probably affected every family in one way or another,” Westmoreland County Attorney John Peck said.

Bruce Antkowiak, lawyer and chairman of the Saint Vincent Department of Criminology, spoke about his experience in prosecuting drug trafficking cases in western Pennsylvania.

“I learned the truth. … Drug addiction does not only destroy the human body. It is in the most dreadful sense cancer of the human spirit, ”said Antkowiak. “Drug addiction turns out to be a most profound attack on the human soul.”

He thinks more people are being jailed because of the drugs than necessary. Instead, more effective ways should be found to give these people a “real chance of recovery,” Antkowiak said.

Summit moderator Troy Rivetti, head of the criminal division at the US attorney’s office, said what started out as heroin containing fentanyl has now turned into pure fentanyl, in part because people squeeze their own pills. .

“You have no idea what this pill your friend is offering you is,” Rivetti said.

Steve Denhup, intelligence group supervisor for the DEA in western Pennsylvania, said he believed covid-19 had a “temporary effect” on drug trafficking.

Although Mexican cartels were initially challenged to bring supplies into the country, once restrictions began to lift in June and July of this year, “supplies have come back in force,” Denhup said during Summit.

“(There was) no shortage of fentanyl during the pandemic,” Denhup said. Currently, $ 5 million is going back to Mexico in exchange for “a brick” of fentanyl, he said.

“The Everyday Battle”

Westmoreland County Substance Abuse Court Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio said her work had become a “revolving door” of the same people returning to court after a relapse.

A heroin addict surrendered, Bilik-DeFazio told summit attendees.

“’If you don’t put me in jail today then I am going to die, so please put me in jail,” Bilik-DeFazio recounted, telling the woman.

A drug addiction survivor spoke last at the summit. She graduated from the Bilik-DeFazio Drug Court Program.

Antkowiak’s sentiment of how addiction attacks her mind resonated with her because she spent 17 years using and believes “addiction is a disease of the mind,” said the woman, whose name has been withheld for confidentiality reasons.

She explained that although she had been to treatment centers and Narcotics Anonymous meetings since 2015, she was never able to recover as she only healed the “spiritual lump” in Bilik’s program. -DeFazio in 2019.

“The drug court saved my life,” she said. “My pain was so great, and I just wanted to get help so hard.”

She said she knew she was “destined to be a drug addict” since her father was one.

“What I didn’t know was that all of my pain had a purpose,” she said.

This goal is to let others know “that there is hope” and to encourage those who are struggling to “not give up”.

“It’s an everyday fight for my life, (a) everyday fight,” she said. “I didn’t think I had a choice, I was so used to this lifestyle. … There is always a light at the end of the tunnel.