Athens County officials are at odds over the cause, but they know one thing is for certain: Drug users in the county are dying at one of the fastest rates in Ohio.
In 2011 alone, there were 12 fatal accidental drug overdoses in the county, according to an Ohio Department of Health study released earlier this year.
That was the county’s deadliest year since 2007, when there were 13 accidental drug overdoses resulting in deaths.
“The causes of opioid usage (are) poverty, frustration and the need to use drugs to feel better,” said Dr. James Gaskell, Athens City-County health commissioner. He attributes Athens’ relatively deadly stature to its high poverty rate.
He said it’s a problem that’s getting worse over time.
When adjusted to disregard age, the state study said that of Ohio’s 88 counties, Athens County had the 12th highest fatality rate per 100,000 residents from 2007 to 2011.
Those statistics paint a bleak picture of drug culture in this area, said Athens County Sheriff Pat Kelly, who has made drug crackdowns the cornerstone of his now two-term tenure in office.
“I’m not surprised (about high death rates) … because in the southeast part of Ohio, we are the highest in the state based on unemployment,” Kelly said. “Many people are feeling hopeless.”
Kelly went as far as to say poverty and drug abuse are synonymous.
Some of the families receiving aid from the Athens County Department of Job and Family Services are financially crippled by drug use, spokesman Nick Claussen said.
But Claussen doesn’t see poverty as a cause of opioid drug use. He said he’s seen poverty often follow drug use, instead of the two occurring simultaneously.
“It’s breaking up families and hurting families,” Claussen said. “It’s moving people from house to house, too, which compounds the problem.”
Besides poverty, Gaskell, the city-county health commissioner, also thinks mental illnesses play a larger role in drug abuse than many would guess.
“I think there are mental issues that influence (drug abuse),” Gaskell said. “If you have depression or are bipolar, you are more likely to use opioids to self-medicate.”
With out solid funding, Gaskell said the county struggles to help those addicted.
He said each abuser needs a cocktail of treatment. Most drug users don’t have the time or money to endure cognitive, psychiatric and medication therapy. And as more and more of these drug users evade therapy, Gaskell said their addictions are passed on to the next generation.
“About 10 percent of our babies born in Athens County are born addicted to drugs,” he said. “They are very symptomatic. They cry, don’t eat and have diarrhea. … They may have seizures.”
Gaskell said health officials meet with mothers with addiction problems on a weekly basis.
Kelly said educational programs like that one are the county’s best shot to buck its fatal trend. Many abusers are calloused to the threat of arrest, he said.
“Abstinence is the overall answer,” he said. “We need to focus on treating the offenders who are addicted."
sh335311@ohiou.edu
@SamuelHHoward
