Last updated : December 23, 2024
Ohio residents who are concerned about drug abuse recently received good news. Preliminary statistics released earlier this month indicated that Cuyahoga County deaths caused by heroin overdose have decreased since the first of the year. Between 38 and 40 county residents died from heroin overdose in the first quarter of 2014; it is the lowest first-quarter death toll since 2011 when 31 fatalities were documented. Last year, 195 people succumbed to the opiate, breaking the previous year’s record of 161 deaths. Forty-seven fatalities were recorded in the first quarter alone. The number of heroin-related deaths have been increasing in Cuyahoga County since 2006 when 49 residents overdosed on the drug.
Don’t Relax Yet
Although this year’s smaller first-quarter death toll seems encouraging, executive Ed Fitzgerald claims it is too soon to announce victory and warns against complacency. He believes the heroin problem in Ohio is far too serious to assume the new count is meaningful and not just a statistical anomaly. Fitzgerald, along with Cleveland Police Chief Calvin D. Williams, U.S. Attorney Steven Dettelbach, Medical Examiner Thomas Gilson and other officials developed a comprehensive protocol to crack down on heroin use by carefully dissecting the overdose locations and treating them as crime scenes. The strategy also includes tracking down dealers and prosecuting street peddlers for the deaths of heroin victims.
Ohio’s Troubled Decade
The state as a whole has struggled with a growing heroin problem for more than a decade. The Ohio Department of Health reported that 22 percent of all Ohio drug overdose cases in 2010 were heroine-related. According to the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services, heroin availability in Cleveland has caused abuse to reach epidemic levels in recent years. Heroin, which is made from morphine, is typically less expensive than the prescription painkillers that often serve as gateway drugs for abusers. Heroin is usually injected, but it can also be snorted or smoked. Alarming reports reveal that children as young as 13 are using the drug.
Heroin Overdose Symptoms
Heroin overdose symptoms include changes in breathing, unusually small pupils, low blood pressure, weak pulse, blue nails or lips, muscle spasticity, disorientation and delirium. New and inexperienced users often overdose accidentally because they are unaware of their own tolerance levels. If an antidote is administered in time, recovery from an acute overdose is possible.
