Heroin Fatalities Up 185 Percent: Harford Sheriff

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — Heroin fatalities are spiking in Harford County, where four overdose deaths were reported over the weekend.

Gov. Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency in Maryland this month due to the rise in overdose deaths from heroin, particularly because of fentanyl, an opioid that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. Some drug users who think they are buying heroin are actually buying the more deadly fentanyl or heroin laced with fentanyl.

Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler reported that fatal overdoses are up more than 185 percent compared with the same time last year, in an interview with WBAL Radio this week.

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Of the 21 heroin-related deaths reported this year, Gahler said he had received autopsies for nine so far — and all nine showed fentanyl was involved.

There were four fatal overdoses over the weekend in Harford County, according to The Aegis:

• 47-year-old woman in Havre de Grace (Saturday)
• 26-year-old man in Bel Air (Saturday)
• 35-year-old man in Aberdeen (Saturday)
• 27-year-old man in Aberdeen (Sunday)

Gahler reportedly said that it will get "worse before we start to see better," as education that began in the past few years in Harford County effects change.

Outreach efforts have been ongoing to educate the community about the deadly drug.

Havre de Grace Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) planted more than 200 red tulips earlier in the school year to memorialize overdose victims.

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Recently, SADD coordinated a movement in which 287 volunteers wore t-shirts that said "overdose victim." They stood for the entire school day to raise awareness about overdoses.

Photo courtesy of Harford County Public Schools.

Harford County launched a public awareness campaign in 2016 to combat the heroin epidemic that includes these elements, among others:

• Billboards and public service announcements
• Project Healthy Delivery, a program to help pregnant women with addiction
• Trainings on heroin for professionals, from health teachers to businesses
• Harford County Bar Foundation partnership to help addicts with legal issues
• Speaking tour to educate parents about the problem
• Recovery coaches and recovery coach coordinator to help addicts navigate job opportunities and support services after treatment

There are naloxone trainings for community members to learn how to administer the overdose antidote, through the health department.

In the school system, a display putting faces to the fatalities has been making the rounds in high schools countywide, and a play called "Addicted" has brought the reality of addiction close to home.

Each week, the Harford County Sheriff's Office also updates signs outside its offices that show the number of fatal and nonfatal overdoses in Harford County.

"Behind that number, it's a human being," Gahler told ABC 2 News of the heroin tally. "It's heartbreaking."

Photo from September 2016 by Elizabeth Janney.

Where to Get Help in Maryland

See local resources in Harford County for those struggling with addiction, provided by the Harford County Office of Drug Control Policy.

Maryland residents who need help can also find substance abuse treatment facilities on the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's website. Or call the Maryland Crisis Hotline, which provides 24/7 support, at 1-800-422-0009.

Main article photo is from Harford County Public Schools, showing Havre de Grace High School's SADD volunteers who represented the victims of overdoses in the last year.