Drug epidemic breaking counties
The opioid epidemic is hitting Ohio coroner’s offices hard. While Scioto County Commissioners were discussing the startling statistics regarding the distribution of close to 50 million prescription pain pills in the county, they brought up the effect the opioid crisis has on local governments.
Hospitals, law enforcement, and EMS are taxed by responding to ODs and drug-related crime, but another department is hit hard – county coroners.
According to Commissioner Mike Crabtree, “The cost of autopsies has broken a lot of counties. There have been people have set six months in coolers down in Cincinnati because of overload.”
Watch 90 Seconds of the discussion
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGhcKyV8SSk[/embedyt]
Commissioner Bryan Davis agreed. He says the strain on local budgets because of drug abuse has forced them to react to the crisis. And while the abuse of prescription pain pills is on the decline, the area is not out of the woods yet. Fentanyl has placed a huge strain on resources. “The Coroner’s budget was tripled last year because of the introduction of fentanyl,” Davis says the county is also fighting heroin abuse seeing a resurgence in the use of crystal meth.
Discussing the County’s lawsuit against the manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioid medications, Crabtree said that if the county is able to reach a settlement, he hopes the money can be used to reimburse the police, EMS, coroner, and other departments for their expenses.
“There is no price that can be put on Misery,” Davis said. “But we can make them pay.”
Drug epidemic breaking counties