Two Overdoses In Lakewood On Saturday

LAKEWOOD, OH — Four doses of an anti-overdose drug were needed on Saturday to save the lives of two people. Call log records indicate that at least one of the overdoses was the result of heroin use.

The first apparent overdose happened at about 4 a.m. on Saturday. Police were called to an apartment building on Madison Avenue. When officers arrived they found a 33-year-old man, unresponsive on the floor.

Police administered a nasal dose of Narcan, the anti-overdose drug, and then Lakewood Fire Department medics cared for the man. He was taken to the Lakewood Emergency Room.

The 33-year-old was cited for possession of drug paraphernalia and disorderly conduct. He was released from police custody while he was at the ER.

The second overdose happened at about 12:30 on Saturday. Police were called to the 1400 block of W. 117th for reports of a man that was possibly overdosing in his car.

Officers arrived and found a 32-year-old man on the ground outside of his car. A bystander was performing CPR on the man.

Police gave the 32-year-old three doses of Narcan. The man became responsive and was rushed to the Lakewood Emergency Room by Lakewood Fire.

The 32-year-old is from Bellevue, Ohio and was cited for disorderly conduct and was released while he was at the ER.

Seventy-seven people overdosed on heroin in Lakewood in 2017. Eleven people died from those overdoses, according to numbers released by the city as part of Project SOAR.

Project SOAR, the city's new program supporting opioid addiction recoverysupporting opioid addiction recovery, will be unveiled Tuesday, April 17 as part of the third installment of the Heroin to Hope community conversations series. A collaborative initiative, the program will speed up access to treatment and recovery for people battling addiction; provide peer support to both victims and their families; and provide other support and resources for both victims and families.

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