Editorial: Opioid prevention critical in cutting overdose deaths
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In 2021, 168 people lost their lives because of accidental drug overdoses in Westmoreland County.
Break that down over the course of the year, and that means just over every two days, someone’s high turned into a family’s worst low.
It also means that drug overdose deaths are increasing at an alarming rate. The 2021 numbers were up 37% from 2020. While still lower than the 2017 high of 193 deaths, it is the second year in a row that deaths are up.
The overdoses are doubling the number of deaths from other dramatic causes such as traffic crashes, homicides and suicides.
But unlike a crash, these deaths are an oncoming wave built out of addiction and illegal drug traffic, with most of it centered around the highly potent opioid fentanyl. Of the 2021 drug deaths, 81.5% were fentanyl-related.
The issue often is referred to as an opioid epidemic. It might be better labeled an epidemic of greed.
It may start with the pharmaceutical companies that marketed entirely legal prescription drugs for decades, using practices that have led to lawsuits and bankruptcy for companies like Oxycontin manufacturer Purdue Pharma. However, that is only a part of the story.
Another is a counterfeiting process using cheap and unreliable fentanyl pressed into pills that masquerade as the real deal.
Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli is correct when she says this is a war that needs to be fought on multiple fronts. Prevention and treatment must be at least as important as the law enforcement side. Indeed, they cannot be neglected even after arrest or sentencing without guaranteeing the process becomes a revolving door.
Westmoreland County Detective Tony Marcocci fears fentanyl making its way to younger, less-experienced drug users — kids who are experimenting.
That makes the prevention aspect more important than ever.