48 million pain pills sent to Scioto County
The numbers are shocking. Between 2006 and 2014, over 48 million opioid pills were distributed by manufacturers in Scioto County alone. That’s 617 pills for every person living in the county.
Scioto County Commissioners seemed to struggle to contain their emotions as they released the numbers at the end of Tuesday’s Commission meeting.
All three said they were shocked by the numbers. The numbers about the number of prescription drugs distributed are normally confidential, but the county was able to subpoena the information as part of a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers.
“It’s bad,” Commissioner Bryan Davis said. “But one way to chart your course forward and determine where you need to go is to come to grips with the reality of where you’ve been.”
Both the number and the prescription strength of the drugs is startling. Close to 50 million pain pills containing almost 1 billion MME (milligram morphine equivalent) were shipped to Scioto County along in just eight years. Of those pills, more than 22 million were Oxycontin and 28 million were various forms of Hydrocodone.
Commissioner Cathy Coleman said the numbers were difficult to believe. “The numbers are so large, you’d think they were nationwide.”