‘Overdose Capital of America’: Ohio’s Montgomery County sees 365 opioid-related deaths in the first five months of this year
Ohio’s Montgomery County has already seen 365 opioid-related deaths in five months this year, compared to the 371 overdose deaths recorded in all of 2016
The county has already recorded the most opioid overdose deaths in the US
Authorities anticipate seeing 800 opioid overdose deaths by the end of the year
The county coroner says up to 70 percent of the victims they see are overdoses
The entire state of Ohio could see as many as 10,000 overdose victims this year
DAILYMAIL.COM
19 June 2017
Montgomery County now lays claim to the unfortunate title of ‘Overdose Capital of America’, thanks to 365 overdose deaths officially cataloged between January and May this year, reports NBC News.
In 2016, a total of 371 people died of drug overdoses there for the entire year, according to the county coroner’s office.
Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer told NBC News that the county anticipates 800 people will die of an overdose by the end of this year and that it is ‘Number 1 in the nation in overdose deaths’ per capita.
The 2010 census puts the county’s population at just over 535,000 people.
Montgomery County sheriff’s deputies are said to respond to several overdose calls a day and deputies carry two doses of Narcan, a nasal spray version of naloxone, a prescription drug that can reverse the effects of an opiod overdose.
However, deputies say that being armed with those two doses of Narcan isn’t always enough — one deputy told NBC News that 20 doses were needed to treat a recent overdose victim and noted that even with the emergency treatment, the victims often die anyway.
The Rest…HERE
