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WARREN -- A local drug task force isn't waiting for the opioid epidemic to be declared a state or national emergency. They already are working to clear the streets of drug dealers, leaders of the Trumbull Ashtabula Group Law Enforcement Task Force said.
"We are in a state of readiness, tackling these issues on the forefront, regardless of whether or not a state of emergency is declared," said Joe Dragovich, chief deputy in the Trumbull County Sheriff's Office and project director for the task force.
But a formal declaration could bring much-needed resources and attention to the table, said Greg Leonard, the assistant commander of the task force and a detective with the Ashtabula County Sheriff's Office.
Although President Donald Trump said the opioid crisis is an emergency, he has not started any formal processes for an emergency declaration.
Federal dollars, especially if police officers on the ground have a say on how they are directed, would do a lot to combat drug trafficking and substance abuse, Leonhard said.
"You might be surprised, with how many people are dying, but some people still don't know what is going on and declaring an emergency would be good for public awareness," Leonhard said.
But if a federal or state declaration led to an influx of cash to help with the epidemic, the people who are on the ground should be consulted on the best way to spend it, Leonhard said.
"A problem I see is a lot of those decisions on spending is made at an upper level without talking to the foot soldiers, talking to the people who know firsthand what resources they need to help. In this country, we have a tendency to throw money at our problems without making the smartest choices on how the money should be spent," Leonhard said.
Leonhard said locally, more money to promote collaborations between police departments would help quell the epidemic, which has taken the lives of more people in Trumbull County every year since 2013, according to the Trumbull County Coroner's Office.
An opiate task force in Ashtabula County is funded with a federal grant and the money helps pay for officers to investigate each overdose death as a crime, which can lead to getting drug dealers of the streets, Leonhard said.
Trumbull County Sheriff's Capt. Tony Villanueva, commander of TAG, said the task force has been expanding its reach by adding participating communities and recruiting others.
"We have added departments to the task force to have a stronger force to combat the drugs on the street. We have a stronger relationship with local, state and federal agencies to all work together," Villanueva said.
The task force has gained partnerships with Niles, Weathersfield, Cortland, Newton Falls and Brookfield since the beginning of the year.
Senators Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, have teamed up on legislation seeking to use federal resources to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the state and country and lift limits on the number of people who can be treated for addiction at places that accept Medicaid.
A formal emergency declaration would make it easier to implement rule changes, according to Brown. Most detoxification centers in Trumbull County have waiting lists to get a bed, and the waiting lists could be reduced if the detox facilities were allowed to treat more than 16 people at a time.
Brown's INTERDICT Act would provide custom and border agents with additional resources to screen for fentanyl and Portman's STOP Act would help detect the drug.