Ohio Addiction Treatment and Info

The state of Ohio has been ravaged by the opioid epidemic that has been sweeping through the nation for the past several decades. However, the state has increasingly come up with ways and means to mitigate the drug issue. Effective programs of addiction treatment are available to help residents of the Buckeye State find healing and sobriety.

Addiction in Ohio

Ohio has been crippled by the opioid epidemic, much like numerous states in the U.S. As per an article written in The Washington Post, drugs are claiming so many lives so in some Ohio counties that they have to use cold-storage trailers to store bodies seeing as the morgues are at capacity. This is the extent to which drugs and assorted substances have affected the state.

Statistics surrounding the Ohio addiction crisis reflect these harrowing stories, and more. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has reported that 37,024 residents entered addiction rehab in the state in the year 2014. Of these people that attended treatment, most of them went to rehabilitation seeking help for opioid dependency.

Here are the Ohio addiction treatment admissions by drug, for the year 2014:

• Opioids: 14,093
• Alcohol: 5,026
• Marijuana: 7,446
• Cocaine: 2,195
• Other: 1,728
• Methamphetamines: 468

The Ohio Opioid Epidemic

The statistics of the Ohio opioid epidemic are haunting to say the least. Going by information availed by the Ohio Department of Health, the number of opioid-related fatalities climbed from 296 in the year 2003 to 2,590 in the year 2015. This represented a 775% increase in the span of only 12 years. What is more, it appears that this upward trend in opioid abuse is set to be maintained.

NBC News has reported that the state of Ohio was on track to get to 10,000 opioid overdoses by the end of the year of 2018 — a number that was higher than the entire nation in the year 1990. What is the reason for this? Well, the primary reason is Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid which has been confirmed to be 50 times stronger than heroin.

Fentanyl has become a major hit in the state of Ohio. More and more people are seeking this ultra-potent drug out, and in so doing placing their lives in extreme danger.

Six out of eight regions in Ohio saw the ease of access to Fentanyl climb in the first half-year of 2017. As dealers and peddlers continue to evolve their game in a bid to meet the demand of their increasing clientele, the Ohio Substance Abuse Monitoring Network has noted that heroin is becoming more and more difficult to distinguish from more potent drugs like Fentanyl and carfentanil. This may explain the higher rate of fatal overdoses in the state, in recent times.

Fentanyl and carfentanil are responsible for growing overdose rates across the country. For instance, the Montgomery County Coroner's Office in Ohio found Fentanyl present in 77.4% of the 168 drug-related deaths it processed during January and June 2017.

In the year 2015, Ohio physicians wrote an average of 85.8 opioid prescriptions per 100 residents, or a cumulative 9.96 million prescriptions. This number was way above the national mean of 70.6 prescriptions per 100 residents in 2015.

People who develop addictions to such powerful painkillers usually end up turning to cheaper alternatives which are easier to get than a prescription. The clear example of such an alternative is heroin. Heroin and opioid overdoses are, today, the leading cause of fatalities for residents of Ohio residents aged 55 and below.

Cloaked under these grim facts, is perhaps the most chilling consequence of the opioid blight in the state of Ohio. A record number of children are entering the foster care system after losing their parents to opioid overdose or addiction. In one Ohio County, the number of children in court custody quadrupled from 2014 to 2015, and kids continue to pour into the foster care system.

Commonly Abused Substances in Ohio

1. Alcohol

The Ohio Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services has since reported that 18.4% of Ohio adults over 19 were established binge drinkers. This figure totaled to 1.5 million individuals in the year 2010.

The Center for Disease Control found that fatalities in the state of Ohio which involved a drunk driver rose above the national average in nearly every age bracket except the 0-20 bracket. Of these figures, 5.5% per 100,000 were men (with the national average being 5.2) and 1.6 per 100,000 being women (with the national average being 1.5.)

Nearly 51 % of all deadly crashes which involved alcohol occurred between 8 PM and 4 AM. Nearly 30% of all alcohol-related crashes involved the death of young adults 21-30 years of age (this statistic was sourced from the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services 2005-2009).

2. Prescription Drugs

The Ohio Substance Abuse Monitoring Network, back in January 2015, reported that prescription opioids were remarkably easily available through all the regions of the state of Ohio. No typified profile of an illicit prescription opioid abuser came up. The typical illicit user was, pretty much, everybody. The users of prescription opioids have the habit of combining drugs with alcohol and benzodiazepines.

During the years of 2009-2013, 286,000 Ohio individuals who were 12 years and over were addicted to or abused illicit drugs. That figure did not reflect the number of residents that abused prescription drugs.

An increase in fatalities involving potent benzodiazepines climbed from 212 individuals in the year 2009 to 329 deaths in the year 2013. Finally, it was estimated by the Ohio Department of Health that in the year 2013, 57% of all overdose fatalities involved poly-drug use.

3. Cocaine

In the National Drug Threat Survey of 2011 for Ohio, it was found that cocaine remained the drug that was most often associated with violent crime. This may be explained due to its stimulant effects and the proclivity to aggression that users and abusers of the drug exhibit.

4. Heroin

The Ohio Department of Health noted that heroin-related fatalities had outpaced fatalities of prescription opiate unintentional deaths. Heroin deaths climbed from 679 in the year 2012 to 983 in the year 2013.

According to the 2011 Department of Justice report, the state of Ohio has effectively become a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. This is especially so for Mexican heroin. The increase in drug activity accounts for the spike in heroin admissions to drug abuse facilities as well the climb in heroin-related acts of truancy and crime.

5. Marijuana

Between the years of 1995 and 2009, the highest drug possession arrest rate was for marijuana. The Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services 2010 report illustrated that 351,277 pounds of marijuana were seized, at an estimated street value of $1,200 per unit of measure.

Drug Related Fatalities and Injuries in Ohio

In a news release made by the Ohio Department of Health, the agency confirmed that in the year 2013, 2,110 unintentional drug overdose deaths took place. Opiates (including heroin) and prescription painkillers accounted for over 70% of overdose fatalities.

The Ohio Department of Health's 2014 Violence and Injury Prevention Program report illustrated that the rate of drug poisoning in the year 1999 was 4 per 100,000, which climbed to 19 per 100,000 by the year 2012.

ODH data shows an alarming spike, starting in the year 2007 and sharply climbing in 2009, in fatalities from unintentional drug overdoses. This exceeded motor vehicle traffic crashes as the prime cause of injury and death in the state.

Addiction Prevention in Ohio

As the opioid epidemic has grown steadily, the Ohio policymakers have had their work cut for them. They have had to toil diligently to fight the ever-changing nature of the opioid crisis. The governor of Ohio has since established the Governor's Cabinet Opiate Action Team in a bid to strategize how to suppress opioid use across Ohio.

Since its inception, this team has implemented comprehensive, community-centered directives to help the state of Ohio, including:

• Increasing law enforcement efforts to limit drug trafficking
• Implementing legislation to shut down pill mills
• Establishing opiate prescribing guidelines for physicians
• Expanding access to and awareness of Naloxone, an overdose reversal medication
• Encouraging schools and parents to have conversations with youth about living a drug-free life through the Start Talking! Program
• Making sure all Ohioans have access to addiction treatment by providing care to prisons and low-income families

These initiatives have gone a long way in helping to decrease opioid prescriptions in Ohio by over 3 million — a clear sign that things are at the very least inching in the right direction for the state.

Addiction Treatment in Ohio

The 2010 government NSSATS outlined 373 facilities of substance abuse in the state of Ohio. According to SAMHSA's Behavioral Health Barometer for the year 2014, during the years of 2009-2013, roughly 683,000 residents aged 12 and over abused drugs and assorted substances in the state of Ohio.

According to CASA Columbia University (2009), the state of Ohio spends two cents of every dollar on drug abuse prevention and about 90 cents of every dollar on the varied consequences of drug use and abuse.

The programs that follow offer a broad variety of recovery services, including but certainly not limited to:

i) Medical Detox

Drug and alcohol detox is very often the first and most crucial stage in addiction treatment. The process allows for the body to rid itself of all the traces of drugs or alcohol. Depending on the individual's choice drug, how long they have been addicted and the drug amounts they used, the length of detox can vary.

Detox and withdrawal may be quite uncomfortable. At times, it can be life-threatening. Because of this, the safest and most effective way that one can detox is via a medically supervised program. Medically supervised detox provides round-the-clock supervision to monitor and promptly treat withdrawal symptoms.

ii) Inpatient Addiction Treatment

Residential drug rehab programs in the state of Ohio offer a compassionate environment in which those that are struggling with drug dependency can be able to overcome their disease. Inpatient drug rehabilitation programs require for the patients to live on campus for the entire duration of their treatment. The patients usually participate in individual therapy, group therapy as well as a varied array of activities which are all designed to build addiction-recovery skills.

Individuals seeking an inpatient addiction treatment program are able to find quality treatment options in the state of Ohio, including specialized care such as:

• Dual diagnosis
• Medication-assisted treatment
• Trauma grounding
• Gender-specific treatment groups

iii) Outpatient Addiction Treatment

Unlike residential rehab, outpatient treatment does not require patients to live on campus while attending treatment. While some patients begin at this level of care, outpatient drug rehab is more appropriate for people who have completed inpatient treatment and are looking for continued care.

An addiction treatment plan will look different for every individual, depending on their unique set of needs. Each patient will work with their treatment team in order to create a concise treatment plan which will work best for them.

Some of the most common therapies used in addiction treatment are:

• Individual and group therapy
• Family therapy
• Stress management
• Relapse-prevention techniques
• Cognitive-behavioral therapy
• Dialectical behavior therapy
• Motivational interviewing

As the addiction treatment continues to evolve, providers are incorporating more forms of alternative therapy into their curriculum. Known as complementary therapies, these modalities are applied alongside traditional therapies to promote spiritual and emotional growth and healing throughout addiction treatment.

Complementary therapies that are offered by addiction treatment centers may include:

• Yoga
• Meditation
• Tai chi
• Acupuncture
• Adventure therapy
• Hiking
• Journaling
• Exercise
• Music therapy
• Equine therapy
• Art therapy

While these alternative methods may not work for everyone, each patient can find an activity that enhances their time in treatment and improves their well-being. This brings us to:

Getting Help

Once you know for sure that you have a dependency problem with drug use and abuse, the best thing to do is get into a rehab program. You need to approach and get admitted as quickly as possible to an Ohio rehab program to elevate your chances of reclaiming your life.

CITATIONS

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK234579/

https://www.shadac.org/publications/50-state-analysis-drug-overdose-trends-evolving-opioid-crisis-across-states

https://www.carnevaleassociates.com/our-work/emerging-drug-trends-prevention-issue-brief.html

https://www.getsmartaboutdrugs.gov/news-statistics/emerging-drug-trends

https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2018-11/DIR-032-18%202018%20NDTA%20final%20low%20resolution.pdf

https://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr/WDR_2010/2.0_Drug_statistics_and_Trends.pdf

https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/2014_Treatment_Episode_Data_Set_State_Admissions_9_15_16.pdf

https://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/opioids/opioid-summaries-by-state/ohio-opioid-summary

https://mha.ohio.gov/Portals/0/assets/ResearchersAndMedia/Data%20and%20Reports/Data%20Archives/study2-executive-summary.pdf

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