Hennepin Co. Sheriff Introduces #NOverdose After Spike In Opioid Deaths

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday a year-long, county-wide drug prevention campaign called "#NOverdose." The campaign is a response to crisis level number of opioid related deaths in Hennepin County in 2016.

“Every one of the opioid-related deaths last year could have been prevented,” Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek said in a statement. “We can’t arrest our way out of this epidemic, which is why we’re focusing on county-wide prevention.”

As part of the campaign, the Sheriff’s Office is building a coalition of school districts, law enforcement agencies, elected officials, community members and community organizations that can assist with educating parents and youth about current drug dangers and trends.

In 2016, there were 144 opioid-related deaths in Hennepin County, a 31 percent increase from the year before, according to county officials. During the past five years, there were nearly 600 opioid-related deaths in Hennepin County, and the deceased ranged in age from 16 to 98.

Colleen Ronnei, whose son Luke, 20 died a year ago due to heroin said, “Heroin is an equal opportunity killer, chances are you or someone you know has already been affected by it.”

The #NOverdose campaign will focus on education for parents through several school sponsored events such as town-hall meetings. Several Hennepin County high schools have already agreed to host a prevention event, according to a news release.

“In the schools and in the community we have to continue to talk about this issue,” said Holly Magdanz of the Hopkins School District, “We can not pretend it is not a problem.”

The Sheriff’s Office will also be working with cities throughout Hennepin County during 2017 to increase the number of medicine collection options for county residents. Currently there are nine medicine collection boxes in Hennepin County, and the Sheriff’s Office collected and destroyed more than 22,000 pounds of household medication during 2016.

“This is not just a big city problem,” said Eden Prairie Police Chief James DeMann, “Prevention is key, I ask everyone to get rid of old medications and properly secure current medications to prevent prescription drug abuse.”

“Every doctor in the state needs to be aware of this issue, to be educated, and be ready to intervene,” said Dr. Charlie Reznikoff of the Hennepin County Medical Center.

Image via The National Crime Agency, Flickr, used under Creative Commons