Essex County heroin deaths more than doubled in a year

LYNN – Despite notable local and national deaths from heroin overdoses, the epidemic has not slowed down, as 2014 marked another record-breaking year for fatal suspected heroin overdoses in Essex County and in Lynn.”It’s almost all heroin and it’s all Class A opiates,” Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said Friday. “It’s across the board; it cuts across the socio-economic lines, it’s just a scourge, it’s a public health issue, not just in Essex County but throughout the Northeast.”There were 66 fatal overdoses in 2013 in Essex County, according to State Police. The number more than doubled in 2014, with 145.By the end of November, Lynn recorded 33 of those fatal overdoses. There were 250 nonfatal overdoses, according to Lynn Police. Statistics are still being compiled for overdoses in December, police said. The previous record for fatal overdoses was 2005, when the city recorded 25.But while the statistics reached new levels, the pathway to addiction generally remains the same.Blodgett said the most common pathway to heroin addiction generally remains the same: individuals are prescribed and/or use a common painkiller such as oxycontin, percocet or other prescription drugs and subsequently develop a habit. The habit becomes an addiction and users try to score the painkillers on the street, by visiting different doctors, or through other means. Eventually, the name-brand painkillers become too expensive and heroin is both a cheaper and more widely available substitute.But the purity and strength of the heroin narcotic varies, so some addicts may not physically be able to handle the amount of drugs they put into their systems. Users also gradually build up a tolerance to the drug – meaning that those who may have changed their usage habits (for example, because of a treatment program) can be at a higher risk for an overdose.But recognizing that addiction can be a long term issue, law enforcement are stressing efforts in the new year which involve multiple timeframes – from reversing overdoses as they happen, to providing treatment to addicts, to preventing addiction from starting.In dealing with immediate effects of a heroin overdose, Lynn Police patrol officers will be all trained in how to administer nasal Narcan, which can reverse an opioid overdose, throughout January.The training and medication is paid for by a $48,000 grant, which can be renewed each year for three years, and awarded in mid-December from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Lynn Police Chief Kevin Coppinger said. This training will mean each ambulance company, paramedic unit and cruiser in the City of Lynn will be outfitted with nasal Narcan.”For cops, quite often we’re the first ones there,” Coppinger said. “If we have the Narcan with us, it will allow us to get to the situation with the right equipment sooner and get people the treatment necessary.”The police department also received a $250,000 grant this summer to hire a full-time behavioral-health clinician and case worker. An additional grant hired a 16-hour clinician, Coppinger reported.Coppinger said this enables police to have an in-house treatment provider who can follow up with overdose survivors and help them get into mental health and/or drug treatment. The clinicians also are able to interact and share knowledge with officers who are out on the streets and seeing clients firsthand”Drug treatment and mental-health issues often go hand-in-hand,” Coppinger said Friday. “If somebody needs the help in either of those fields, sometimes it’s good to have a person at the station who can navigate that.”To handle heroin addiction on a longer-term, Coppinger and Blodgett both emphasized prevention through education.”The long term solution is education – don’t start,” Coppinger said. “Because if people are addicted, it’s always an uphill battle to stay clean for the rest of their life.”Blodgett said that message needs to be delivered early and often.”You have to constantly beat the drum,