Ohio Attorney General\u2019s information<\/i><\/p>\n
COLUMBUS —\u00a0\u201cThere is a heroin epidemic in Ohio,\u201d said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine this past week in a news conference to announce disturbing new figures about the use of heroin in the state.\u00a0 The data, gathered from coroners across the state, show the use of heroin has increased dramatically over the last four years.<\/p>\n
\u201cCommunities have to wake up; if you don\u2019t think you have a problem, you are probably wrong,\u201d said DeWine.\u00a0\u201cLocal law enforcement understands the problem.\u00a0As I have traveled the state, over and over sheriffs and police and coroners tell me how bad it is.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, there are people out there who don\u2019t believe heroin is really in their communities,\u201d the attorney general added.\u00a0\u201cThey don\u2019t want to believe that this can be them — that this can be their child who is addicted or who is going to die from a heroin overdose.\u00a0 The numbers tell a different story.\u00a0 We know that, at minimum, 606 families across this state were directly impacted in 2012 by a heroin death.\u201d<\/p>\n
DeWine said Ohioans have to fight this epidemic at the grassroots level — community by community, neighborhood by neighborhood.\u00a0\u201cWe have to get mad and say, \u2018Enough is enough!\u2019\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
DeWine announced a new effort his office is undertaking to assist law enforcement agencies, community leaders, and Ohio residents in this fight.<\/p>\n
The Attorney General\u2019s Heroin Unit, which will include investigators, lawyers, and drug abuse awareness specialists, will assist in combating issues associated with the heroin epidemic, such as crime, addiction, and overdose deaths.<\/p>\n
“New data our office has gathered suggests 11 people die in Ohio every week from a heroin overdose,\u201d said DeWine. \u201cHeroin abuse and addiction has been a problem for a long time, one I keep hearing about as I talk with parents, prosecutors, and law enforcement around the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese new efforts to fight heroin will not be the full solution to Ohio’s heroin problem, but by providing what services we can, we hope to save lives and prevent addiction,” the attorney general added.<\/p>\n
The decision to create the specialized unit was made after new data gathered by the Attorney General’s Office in the past month revealed a 107-percent increase in heroin deaths among more than half of Ohio\u2019s counties. \u00a0The data was collected from 47 Ohio coroner’s offices with complete heroin overdose data for 2010, 2011, and 2012.<\/p>\n
The results are as follows:<\/p>\n
Montgomery County Coroner Dr. Kent Harshbarger, who is also the chief forensic officer for the Ohio State Coroners Association, attended DeWine\u2019s announcement.<\/p>\n
\u201cHeroin deaths in Montgomery County so far in 2013 are up to 92, nearly the number for the entire 2012 year,\u201d said Dr. Harshbarger. \u201cI\u2019m glad there is an increased effort to try to fight this increasing problem plaguing our state and killing too many Ohioans.\u201d<\/p>\n
The parents of 20-year-old Marin Riggs of Upper Arlington said heroin is the definition of heartbreak for them.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarin was 20 and headed to college to become an ultrasound technician,\u201d said Heidi Riggs. \u201cHer smile, which lit up the room, was extinguished by her heroin addiction, which lured her back after six months of sobriety.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope to encourage other parents to talk to their kids and know that heroin is readily available in every suburb of every city in every state for about $10,\u201d Mrs. Riggs noted.<\/p>\n