A growing epidemic: the story of heroin in Ohio

By: Ryan Landolph and Jack Kopanski

The number of opioid-related deaths in Ohio has been continually on the rise since 2003, according to the Ohio Department of Health (ODH). Heroin remains the largest cause of overdoses, totaling more than 13,000 deaths between 2003 and 2015.

In 2015 alone, fatal heroin overdoses made up nearly half of all deaths in Ohio (ODH).

A recovering addict, who avoided this fate, tells his story to Nya Coleman and Andrea Siebert.

Since 2012, fentanyl has seen the steepest increase in overdoses, totaling nearly 2,000 deaths in a four-year span. According to the Mental Health and Recovery Board of Portage County, fentanyl is a street drug that can be mixed with heroin. It makes heroin 50-to-100-times stronger and results in most overdose deaths.

Angela Junglen, a psychological sciences doctoral student at Kent State University, said fentanyl is a problem because those who think they’re buying heroin, could, in reality, be getting fentanyl.

“Now, more than ever, it’s this concern over what you are getting,” Junglen said. “You’ve expected to get heroin all this time, and now you’re getting fentanyl. There’s a betrayal with that.”

Heroin started becoming increasingly popular in Ohio about ten years ago. Doctors began prescribing painkillers to patients in need, while pharmaceutical companies convinced doctors that these drugs, like OxyContin, would not be addictive.

Around this time, doctors were also beginning to be evaluated by their patients for how well their pain was relieved, said director of community relations at the Mental Health and Recovery Board of Portage County, Karyn Hall. This led doctors to prescribe more intense painkillers in order to receive positive comments from their patients.

Doug Delahanty, professor of psychological sciences at Kent State, said the behavior of using pills to dull pain is often learned when young, and reverted to often by an addict.

“Individuals who early on learn that, ‘If I take these pills, my pain will go away,’ when they’re having other issues in life, that’s the first stop,” Delahanty said. “Local hospitals are reviewing their opiate prescription policies at this time, and are trying to change them out of concern that that’s what might be happening.”

Jack Kopanski and Taras Ustrytskyy take a deeper look at these and other psychological trends and habits of addiction.

Evidence reinforces the idea that there is a correlation between painkiller use and heroin use.

“The prescription pills are the link to heroin,” Hall said. “Over 80 percent of people who are using heroin or other opioid street drugs started with a legitimate pain prescription.”

However, Ohio was also specifically targeted by drug cartels that looked to infiltrate suburban and rural areas, Hall said. These drug dealers kept out of large cities like New York and Chicago to avoid the gangs and drug suppliers that were already there.

“They had it all figured out, and they did target Ohio,” Hall said. “They figured out a way to deliver drugs like a pizza delivery. It was that easy. They would only carry small amounts of heroin, so if the driver got caught, he would only go to jail for a couple of years.”

There are treatment options available for addicts that have proven success records. Drugs such as Vivitrol, Suboxone and Buprenorphine can be given following detoxification. There are also treatment facilities that addicts can choose to enter, which can be nearly free of charge.

Megan Deierling and Ryan Landolph document different treatment options in Ohio, specifically in Portage and Summit Counties.

With opiate-related deaths exponentially rising, it’s important to watch for potential signs of addiction in loved ones.

“You can never write off the idea that there might be an addiction problem,” said Dr. John Sorboro, medical director at the Restorative Health and Recovery Clinic in Kent. “I think so many people are inclined to believe that could not be the case with [their] husband or [their] children. At this stage, that’s just absolutely not true.”

Editor’s note: Each group member performed required work agreed upon by group leader.

Taras – All things dealing with making of the video for “This is your brain on opiates.”

Jack – Conducted interviews and all things dealing with writing the story, including infographic and pictures, for “This is your brain on opiates.” Worked on “A growing epidemic.”

Ryan – Conducted interviews and all things dealing with writing the story, including sidebar and infographic, for “Medication, treatment centers.” Worked on ”A growing epidemic.”

Megan – Conducted interviews and all things dealing with making of the video, including sidebar, for “Medication, treatment centers.”

Andrea – All things dealing with making of the video for “The faces of heroin.” Conducted interviews.

Nya – All things dealing with writing of the story for “The faces of heroin.” Conducted interviews.