'Get Help Now': Opioid Deaths Increase In Anne Arundel County

MILLERSVILLE, MD — The pace of overdose deaths in the county is up in 2018 compared to the same time last year, say Anne Arundel County Police. Numbers released Jan. 24 show that 10 people had died from an overdose in the county already this year, compared with six deaths by the same date in 2017. And the overall number of overdoses is only slightly lower, with 68 tallied so far this month compared with 74 a year ago.

In issuing the monthly report, officials said that 66 people have taken advantage of help available at county Safe Stations. The Safe Station program launched in April 2017 pulled together resources to create a multidisciplinary effort, opening up police and fire stations in the county to anyone seeking treatment for drug addiction. It teams up law enforcement, the state's attorney's office and a 24-hour crisis team.

The Safe Station program helped at least 385 county residents in 2017, according to county police.

Residents affected by the opioid epidemic shared their feelings on the department's Facebook page. One woman noted that her son died from an overdose, writing: "My son is a 'red dot.' Get help now, this must end."

That elicited a comment from another mother: "From one mother to another my heart goes out to you. May God comfort you in your time of sorrow."

Statewide, at least 1,069 people lost their lives in 2017 because of opioid-related overdoses, according to state health department data. Anne Arundel County was one of the hardest hit areas. County police say last year over 900 overdoses were reported, and more than 100 residents lost their lives due to an overdose.

Another reader said her son is now in treatment thanks to the Safe Station at Earleigh Heights in Severna Park. "A big thank you," said Barbara Shirk. "He lost a friend yesterday to heroin overdose and I told my son to stay focus(ed) on his recovery for not himself but also for his daughter and son."

The latest fatal overdose count by state health officials released in October 2017 showed that while prescription drug overdose deaths were down across Maryland and heroin fatalities are relatively flat in recent months, fentanyl is killing more residents than ever.

The rate of fatal drug and alcohol overdoses in the state continues at an epidemic pace — especially for users of fentanyl and the even more lethal carfentanyl — say state officials, who urged users to get into treatment before it's too late. The Maryland Department of Health's data for fatal overdoses for the second quarter of 2017 showed that opioid-related overdose deaths continue to skyrocket in the state.

From January through June of 2017, there were 1,172 overdose-related deaths in the state, including 799 fentanyl-related deaths. In the first three months of the year, by comparison, there were 550 drug and alcohol overdose-related deaths statewide, including 372 fentanyl-related deaths. During the same six-month period in 2016, 969 Marylanders died from an overdose.

Heroin and prescription opioid deaths for the second quarter of 2017 are relatively flat compared to the second quarter of 2016. Heroin overdose deaths increased by seven in the second quarter of 2017 when compared to the same time frame in 2016. Overdose deaths from prescription opioids fell by seven, totaling 218 in the second quarter of 2016 and falling to 211 during 2017.

See the full state report online.

Photo courtesy of the Drug Enforcement Administration