Pubdate: Mon, 09 Feb 2015 Source: Pottstown Mercury (PA) Copyright: 2015 The Mercury, a Journal Register Property Contact: http://www.pottstownmercury.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2287 Author: Michael N. Price OPIOID DEATHS FOCUS OF DRUG WAR While heroin continues to claim lives at an alarming rate, officials said prescription drugs now cause more deaths than all illegal street drugs combined. The war on drugs may be best known for the law enforcement's fight against the illegal drug trade, but these days another battle is waging against the rising death toll caused by fatal overdoses. Local law enforcement officials continue to raise the alarm about the constant loss of life that has struck communities across the country, including Chester County. Last year at least 52 people died in an accidental manner caused by drug use, according to statistics from the Chester County Coroner's Office. While heroin continues to claim lives at an alarming rate, officials said prescription drugs now cause more deaths than all illegal street drugs combined. Even more telling, drug overdoses have eclipsed automobile accidents as the number one cause of injury death in the United States, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Though a steady demand for both legal and illegal drugs certainly drives the market, an ever-increasing supply of prescription medication is starting to receive its own share of the blame. Doctors continue to prescribe Oxycodone, a leading culprit in fatal drug overdoses, at an unprecedented rate. In 1998, 11.5 tons of the drug were prescribed worldwide. In 2010, that figure had risen to 122.5 tons, with the United States representing 82 percent of global consumption. Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan, who serves as chair of the intelligence committee for the regional High Intensity Drug Area Trafficking task force (HIDTA), said the availability of potentially deadly prescription drugs in nearly every American home has led to a drastic rise in addiction rates among young people. "From my perspective, they are over-prescribing prescription drugs, particularly hydrocodone and oxycodone," Hogan said. With about 70 percent of the American population on prescription drugs, supply more than meets demand. Opioids like Oxycodone account for the majority of prescription drug deaths and are the third most commonly prescribed drug type in the country behind antibiotics and antidepressants. The deadly problem is not just a local one; 46 people die in the United States every day from overdoses on prescription painkillers alone, according to the CDC. In 2012, Americans filled 259 million prescriptions for painkillers, enough for every adult in the country to have their own bottle of pills. "Across the country and the Commonwealth, we have seen a sharp rise in prescriptions for opioids like Oxycodone in the past decade," Hogan said. "At the same time, we have seen a spike in addiction and overdoses related to these drugs. Although most doctors are prescribing such drugs appropriately, there are a certain number of doctors who are over-prescribing this class of medication." That problem is exacerbated by the Philadelphia region's significance in the heroin trafficking trade, law enforcement officials said. According to information from HIDTA, a task force comprised of local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, heroin continues to rank as the top drug threat for southeastern Pennsylvania. Prescription drugs ranked second, followed by cocaine, crack-cocaine, and marijuana. Addiction to prescription opioids goes hand in hand with the rising rates in heroin use, officials say. While many users develop an addiction by taking prescription pills found in the home, once the supply runs out the need for a fix remains. With Oxycodone demanding $20 to $30 a pill on the street, many users are forced to turn to heroin, which provides a similar high at a fraction of the cost, to feed the habit. Law enforcement officials say the Philadelphia region is home to some of the purest and cheapest heroin in the country, a problem made even worse when Mexican drug cartels recently discovered the process to refine "pure white heroin" that finds its way to southeastern Pennsylvania suburbs. "The Philadelphia region has some of the purest and cheapest heroin in the United States," Hogan said. "Now you have a whole lot more kids addicted, and you have a whole lot more heroin on the street." In response to the rising death toll, law enforcement and elected officials have taken an aggressive approach through a number of public programs, including eleven prescription drug collection boxes that were placed at police stations and public buildings across Chester County in late 2013. Last year, those boxes collected more than half a ton, 1,026 pounds, of unwanted prescription medication. The program, a cooperative effort supported by law enforcement and elected officials like State Rep. Becky Corbin, R155th of East Brandywine, was deemed a major success and could expand to include additional boxes. While collection boxes attempt to safely dispose of medication before it can reach the hands of potential abusers, Pennsylvania's municipal law enforcement officers recently gained a tool designed to save lives when it matters most. Last year, state lawmakers passed legislation that authorized police officers and firefighters to carry and administer Naloxone, or Narcan, an opioid antagonist designed to immediately revive an unresponsive person who is experiencing a potentially fatal drug overdose. The program has already produced results, as the East Brandywine Police Department recently recorded the county's first "save" when police officers used the drug to revive an unresponsive patient earlier this month. On Jan. 23 township police officers administered the drug after responding to the heroin overdose of a 23-year-old woman, who regained consciousness three minutes later and was admitted to an area hospital in stable condition. Corbin, who supported the Naloxone legislation, praised the police officers' actions and the legislation that authorized them to do so. "We gave public safety officials a new tool to battle against heroin addiction, and they wasted no time using this new resource to save lives," Corbin said. "I applaud the courageous work of the East Brandywine Township Police and its rapid response to a reported heroin overdose. Its rapid response and quick thinking kept a young woman from becoming yet another statistic in the deadly heroin epidemic." The East Brandywine officers, like the majority of municipal police officers in Chester County, just received the training that authorized them to administer the drug in the past few weeks. About 20 Tredyffrin police officers also participated in a training class earlier this month. At the beginning of the training, Tredyffrin Police Superintendent Anthony Giaimo said the department typically responds to about 18 to 20 overdoses a year, and three or four of those turn out to be fatal. Tredyffrin became the 25th police department in Chester County to receive the training, administered by West Chester's Good Fellowship Ambulance Company training institute. Five more police departments are scheduled to receive the training, and officials hope the few police departments in the county that have not signed on to receive the training do so soon. "We've pushed this program through a number of different agencies, and we've finally got it here," Giaimo said to his officers at the start of the training, which consisted of an instructional video and a practical demonstration from Ethan Trowley, who manages Good Fellowship's training program. The training emphasized how widespread addiction has become, explaining that prescription drug overdoses now outweigh those caused by illegal drugs. Overall, opioid overdose deaths have tripled since the 1990s, the state-sponsored video said. Police were trained on the warning signs of an opioid overdose, like sedation and respiratory depression, and instructed on how to administer a life-saving dose of Naloxone, a last-chance measure in the fight against addiction. "The best way to prevent heroin or prescription painkiller overdoses is to help addicted persons enter recovery or, better yet, keep people from becoming addicted in the first place," Corbin said. "That said, more departments should follow East Brandywine's lead in getting the proper training and stocking the drug naloxone so that other lives can be saved." Individuals needing help in overcoming addiction may call the Chester County Department of Health's Drug and Alcohol Services hotline between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, at 1-866-286-3767. All calls are confidential. Prescription drug drop box locations can be identified by visiting www.RepCorbin. com and clicking "Prescription Drug Abuse." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom