Community Common...
Progress Being Made In Drug Battle
by Wayne Allen  
November 11, 2011 

State numbers are indicating that Scioto County’s drug problem is showing signs of improvement. 

An Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services (ODADAS) projection based on State Board of Pharmacy data for the first six months of 2011 shows a 10 percent decrease in opiates dispensed in Scioto County. 

“Scioto and Gallia County had two of the highest per capita dosage rates for prescription painkillers in the state in 2010,” the ODADAS released in its annual report. 

Scioto County’s dosage rate was 122.2 and Gallia’s was 124.4. Only Jackson County, at 133.3, was higher. 

“So far, partial-year data for 2011 shows projected decreases in the number of doses prescribed of 8 percent in Scioto County and 5 percent in Gallia County,” ODADAS reported. 

ODADAS Director Orman Hall attributes much of the progress on this issue to Scioto County. 

“I think if it weren’t for Portsmouth shining a light on this problem I’m not sure that many people in our state would have near the understanding of how desperate the situation is,” Hall said. “I think that Portsmouth and Scioto County has been absolutely essential in terms of calling attention to the degree in which this problem was impacting our state.” 

Lisa Roberts, Public Health Nurse with the Portsmouth Health Department, was pleased at the progress that was made by the state on the issue of prescription drug abuse. 

“This is good news in that we’ve made a dent in the prescription opiate supply,” Roberts said. 

ODADAS recently released a document entitled “Ohio’s Opiate Accomplishments to Reduce Addiction and Overdose January – September 2011.” It outlines what various state agencies have accomplished when confronting this issue. 

Some of those accomplishments include: 

• The closure of 12 illicit pain clinics throughout Ohio. 

• The Ohio Department of Public Safety reported that police seized $32 million in illegal narcotics through August 2011. Overall, drug seizures are up 500 percent from 2010. Crime Lab cases for oxycodone have tripled from 2008 to 2010. 

• ODADAS is funding an expansion of SOLACE (Surviving Our Loss And Coping Everyday) that was created in Portsmouth. 

“We have 25 communities throughout the state that are interested in developing SOLACE chapters. There are members of SOLACE that are traveling all over Ohio, telling the Scioto County story. They are helping these communities establish support groups,” Hall said. “Families with addicted loved ones need to here the stories that SOLACE has to tell.” 

Hall also attributed some of the success to the passage of House Bill 93, which led to the regulation of pain clinics throughout the state. 

“What this shows is that when there is a concerted effort in a community we can make a difference. Scioto County has demonstrated that a difference can be made. There is a lot more that we need to do statewide and there is a lot more that we need to do in Scioto County. The biggest reduction in our state in the number of dispensed pills in 2011 was in Scioto County. That, I believe, is because of all of the hard work and all of the attention that advocates in Scioto County have brought to bear on this problem,” Hall said. 

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