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Opioid crisis

State crime labs seek overdose answers

Fentanyl produced in illicit labs in China is easier and cheaper to make than traditional heroin, and poorly mixed batches are primarily responsible for the increased amount of fatal and non-fatal drug overdoses, according to trends spotted in labs at the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Agency. “It is not that complicated to make fentanyl, and that is the reason we are seeing so much of it. It’s not that hard to make and it is cheaper than producing heroin. You don’t need a huge poppy field. The majority of it is manufactured overseas, mostly in ...

The opioid crisis takes its toll on taxpayers

If you think the opioid crisis has nothing to do with you, consider this: You’re already paying for it. And that price is growing. Eleven counties across the state, including Mahoning County, have levies on the November ballot to support the social service agencies that have become overwhelmed by the epidemic. County administrators expect more levies on ballots in the next few years. “Children services costs are exploding around the state,” said Brad Cole, the managing director for research at the County Commissioners’ Association of Ohio. “The avalanche of kids coming ...

Group tackles opioid problem

YOUNGSTOWN — Some had battled addiction themselves. Others have family members who are addicted. Still, others tackle the topic of addiction every day in their work as journalists, anti-drug advocates and recovery professionals. Individuals representing all of these perspectives came ...

The ones they leave behind

WARREN — With a record number of people lost to accidental drug overdoses in Trumbull County last year and so many others unable to parent because they are using drugs or locked up for addiction-related crime, more and more families are raising children in a non-traditional way. Each ...

Strained, but empathetic

WARREN — The hundreds, if not thousands, of people revived from accidental drug overdoses in the last few years in the Mahoning Valley have received doses of Narcan from police officers. Local officers say they are spending much more time administering the life-saving drug while on the ...

Searching for solutions to the opioid epidemic

Paramedics outside Columbus were attempting to revive a man from an overdose in July, but doses of naloxone, the overdose antidote, was having no effect. The man was not breathing and the rescue crews were running out of time. The scene was witnessed by a newspaper reporter who was part of ...