Lakewood Has Most Suburban Cleveland Overdose Deaths In January

LAKEWOOD, OH — Last month saw three Lakewood residents die from overdosing on heroin/fentanyl. They were part of a tragic January that saw 46 Northeast Ohioans, including 23 Clevelanders, die from heroin or fentanyl overdose.

Statistics on the overdose numbers were released Tuesday by the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office. In addition to the 46 fatalities, the examiner's office said it was waiting on 11 additional toxicology reports, so the number of heroin/fentanyl overdose deaths in January may climb yet.

Of the suburban cities that recorded overdose deaths, Lakewood was the only city with more than one fatality in January. It's the continuation of a worrying trend for Lakewood. Mayor Michael Summers says that many of the opiate-related fatalities in the city may not actually be residents of Lakewood. He adds that some cities may not be correctly coding the deaths to avoid categorizing the fatalities as opiate-related.

According to the city, in 2016 Lakewood Police and Fire departments responded to 251 overdose calls, and the community experienced 28 heroin deaths.

Summers said the city had placed a resolution before city council this week to declare the heroin/fentanyl epidemic a public health crisis in Lakewood. He said that Lakewood is doing more than other suburban communities to battle the addiction problem and it's still not enough. That resolution was introduced by Summers, Cindy Marx, councilmember-at-large, and John Litten, Ward 3 councilman.

By declaring the opiate crisis a public health emergency, Lakewood would be eligible for additional federal and state funding to combat the spread of addiction. The resolution will also be sent to Rep. Marcy Kaptur and state legislators representing Lakewood.

"We just aren’t having the impact we need," Summers told Patch. He noted the region probably needs 100 additional rehab beds.

The city is currently employing five undercover narcotics officers to try and break up the spread of drugs on the streets. There are also two private rehabilitation facilities in the city, and Summers said the city is doing what it can to support those facilities because "they're very important" to Lakewood.

He also said that Lakewood can do more to bolster education on heroin and fentanyl.

"I’ve become aware and have a better understanding of how many folks don’t understand the consequences. Family members don’t know how to help members of their families," he said. "I think as a society, and I'm including Lakewood here, we need to do more. We’re working with private and non-profit agencies. We banded together for the first time two weeks ago, with these agencies, and applied for federal support. Not only to get federal support but to also gain some clarity on our existing strategy. We want to do better."

The city has also launched a webpage to inform and aid the public on issues of addiction. You can see the website by clicking here.

Profile of Victims

The overdose victims ranged in age between 23 and 67. Of the victims, 32 were male, 14 were female. The majority of the overdose victims, 33, were white, and 13 were African-American. There was one Hispanic victim.

The high overdose total in January continues a fatal trend from 2016. Last year saw 517 deaths from heroin, fentanyl or both. By comparison, in 2015 there were 228 deaths from heroin/fentanyl. Cocaine deaths are also projected to have doubled from 115 to 225 or 230 in 2016.

Beyond heroin and fentanyl, there were also 31 cocaine-related deaths in January. Nineteen of those 31 deaths came with cocaine mixed with fentanyl, heroin or both. Additionally, there have been at least 10 overdose deaths since Feb. 1. On top of that, the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office said on Facebook that there were 14 suspected overdose deaths over this past weekend.

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