"Heroin by the Numbers" was the topic of discussion Friday (Feb. 14) at the Maysville-Mason County Chamber of Commerce meeting.
The discussion was led by Van Ingram, executive director of the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy, and former Maysville chief of police. Ingram addressed a capacity crowd during the lunch meeting.
The numbers presented highlighted the growing problem, not just in the Buffalo Trace and Appalachian regions, but across the state.
Overdose statistics have skyrocketed in Kentucky since 2000; emergency room visits related to heroin overdoses spiked in 2012; and there were 876 overdose deaths reported in Kentucky in 2013, with 267, or 30 percent, with heroin reported in the toxicology reports.
Jefferson, Fayette, Kenton, Boone, Campbell and Franklin counties lead the way with heroin overdose deaths. Ingram said 84 counties didn't report heroin overdoses. The total for Mason County was approximately three.
"Rarely do we see that one drug kills a person," Ingram said, adding sometimes up to 11 or 12 drugs are found in overdose toxicology reports. "We have a huge opiate problem in this state."
Ingram said 10 years ago, prescription drugs such as Oxycontin were the leading cause of overdose deaths, but that changed after the formulation of the drug was changed. With that change, heroin has been on the upswing as the drug of choice.
Ingram said in regard to opiate addiction, there is a large number of people ages 65 and over who are being treated for over use of prescription medications.
"It's not just kids partying," he said.
He also said the perception by young people of heroin being a dangerous drug had dropped drastically, compared to the perception in the 1970s.
"We've got to raise the perception of risk and let our young people know this isn't acceptable," Ingram added. "We've got to be telling our kids there is a risk and reward for everything we do."
Education, access to substance abuse treatment, greater penalties for major traffickers, and greater access to the Naloxone (Narcane) are key components of battling addiction and have been introduced before the 2014 Kentucky General Assembly in Senate Bill 5.
Increased use of the KASPER system by prescribing physicians has helped battle the prescription drug abuse problem, with more than 4 million request by 90 percent of Kentucky physicians being processed since 2010.
The Ledger Independent is online at: http://www.maysville-online.com
