Overdose deaths in Ohio are on track to fall below the record pace of last year, but the opioid crisis is far from over.

The group Harm Reduction Ohio estimated that overdose deaths for 2022 will drop below 5,000 for the first time since 2019. However, after falling at the beginning of the year, rates appear to have increased since May.

As a registered nurse at The Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center, Rick Lucas has a firsthand view of the opioid epidemic. Lucas, an Ohio Nurses Association union leader, said he carries naloxone at all times to respond when patients - and sometimes, hospital visitors - overdose.

"The stress that everybody is under through the pandemic has only really made things tougher," he said. "Children losing parents, parents losing children, families split apart because of addiction. This is very much something that needs to continue to be front and center, and addressed."

The epidemic is a top issue in the U.S. Senate race between Democrat Tim Ryan and Republican J-D Vance, who wrote a memoir detailing family addiction. Vance has faced criticism of his nonprofit, which he said fights opiate abuse. Media reports have questioned the organization's spending on a political advisor and opinion polling. While financial disclosures indicate the nonprofit is now shuttered, Vance's campaign says it's on a temporary hold due to the Senate race.

Lucas explained that local health-care providers and organizations on the ground have worked tirelessly to help Ohioans struggling with addiction, as state and national resources have fluctuated.

"These folks need not only in-hospital care, but out-of-hospital care, and a lot of the funding comes from the federal government," he said. "So, it is really important that we have legislators in Washington that are gonna take this serious and push policies that have an impact on this crisis."

Lucas said states such as Ohio need more help tackling the opioid crisis, including its increased burden on the health-care system. And he argued that more investments are needed to help people struggling with addiction in rural communities.

"It's a real hardship for folks to travel 30 or 60 miles for ongoing treatment; they don't stick with it," he said. "So we definitely need a more proactive approach in addressing the mental health-care needs of individuals, so they're not turning to self-medicating with opioids or other illicit substances."

According to Harm Reducation Ohio, the worst overdose death rates in 2022 so far skew heavily toward the Appalachian counties in southeast Ohio.

By Kyla Russell for WISH-TV.
Broadcast version by Joe Ulery for Indiana News Service reporting for the WISH-TV-Free Press Indiana-Public News Service Collaboration

After they were long considered paraphernalia, fentanyl test strips are now officially legal in Indiana.

According to recent data, fentanyl is responsible for over 70% of overdose deaths in the state. Until this month, if someone was found with the lifesaving strips, it would be up to the local prosecutor to decide if they would face charges for violating the state's paraphernalia laws.

A bipartisan effort changed that reality by passing House Enrolled Act No. 1167.

"Any resident should and can access test strips," Director of Harm Reduction at Overdose Lifeline Breanna Hicks said. "Our former paraphernalia law said that anything that tests the 'presence, efficacy or effectiveness of a substance, an illicit substance,' could be considered paraphernalia. So, while fentanyl test strips only test for presence, that was a gray area in law in jurisdictions across Indiana."

Local harm reduction organizations say the law fueled fear for people hoping to distribute the strips. The concern prompted them to push for change.

"There's this false narrative that access to test strips are going to encourage substance use or encourage drug use, in general, especially to populations that are younger," Hicks said. "However, that's just not true, harm reduction is a proven practice that allows for individuals to make healthier and better decisions."

Hicks says the strips can be used to test drugs purchased off the street.

When the small strips are submerged in water, they can detect the synthetic drug in 30 seconds to two minutes. According to the Marion County Coroner, the drug was found in over 90% of opioid overdoses in Indianapolis last year.

"Fentanyl overdoses are now the number one cause of death for anybody age 18 to 45," Hicks said. "Indiana falls in that range as well, to where we're seeing fentanyl being the most prevalent cause of accidental overdose death."

Overdose Lifeline is one of the organizations distributing the test strips. To request strips, click here.


Kyla Russell wrote this article for WISH-TV.


get more stories like this via email

Kentucky's latest drug overdose fatality report showed a drop in deaths and for the first time, a decline in deaths among Black Kentuckians.

Groups across the Commonwealth have been working to increase access to harm reduction services.

Latosha Perry, executive director of the Louisville-based nonprofit EmpowHer with Open Arms, said her organization provides prevention services to adolescents as well as group and individual therapy for adults who are typically required to be in therapy in order to see their children.

"Some struggling with addiction or just now coming out of incarceration, they don't have the money to cover those expenses," Perry explained. "It typically decreases the rate of them reunifying with their family."

Overdose deaths in the Commonwealth decreased for the third year in a row, with a slightly more than 30% decrease in 2024, compared with the previous year. Still, more than 1,400 Kentuckians died of a drug overdose.

Ashley Smith, founder and executive director of the nonprofit agribusiness Black Soil Kentucky, said her organization has distributed Narcan units and provided training to farmers so they are equipped to act as first responders.

"We have worked to pair education outreach and technical assistance with direct produce distributions across rural and urban communities," Smith pointed out.

Both organizations received grant funding from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky for their harm reduction efforts.

If you or a loved one is struggling with addiction, call 833-8KY-HELP (833-859-4357) to get assistance connecting with a treatment center. Information about treatment programs is available at FindHelpNowKy.org, and information about how to obtain naloxone is available at FindNaloxoneNowKy.org.


get more stories like this via email

With less than a week in the legislative session, Nevada lawmakers are considering a bill which would change the state's laws for driving under the influence.

Senate Bill 304 would eliminate the threshold of offenses for driving under the influence prosecutors need to charge someone with vehicular homicide. Current law mandates a person have three prior DUI offenses within a seven-year period before they can be charged with vehicular homicide on a fourth offense that results in death.

According to state data, half of deadly crashes on Nevada roads are caused by drunken drivers.

Sandy Heverly, cofounder and executive director of the nonprofit Stop DUI, said she believes the bill could help save lives.

"Why are we giving these people three chances to kill us?," Heverly asked. "We've reached a point where the penalty for the crime should, and must, outweigh the risks these drunken fools are willing to take."

The bill would not only allow charges on the first deadly DUI offense but the person could face more time behind bars. Some public defenders oppose the legislation, saying state law is already tough enough on people charged with DUI. They want more training for alcohol servers and providers to prevent incidents in the first place. The bill was heard in committee last week.

Alyssa Belle Yabut is the eldest daughter of Nevada State Police Trooper Alberto Felix. Felix and Nevada Highway Patrol Sergeant Michael Abbate were killed by an impaired driver while they assisted another driver in 2023. Yabut said DUIs not only take lives, they shatter families.

"Every holiday, every birthday and every ordinary day, we feel his absence," Yabut explained. "Unjustly, under the current Nevada law, that driver could not be charged with vehicular homicide because he didn't have three prior DUIs."

Yabut said she wants the bill to be a turning point for Nevada. Critics warned the bill could lead to steep financial implications for the state and perhaps significantly increase the state's prison population.


get more stories like this via email