On August 26, 2016 reports were made public through CNN and Headline news regarding the drug, “Carfentanil” a deadly combination of elephant tranquilizers and heroin that has caused 25 overdoses, of which 4 were fatal in Akron, Ohio alone. In a recent 3-day period Columbus had 10 overdoses in just a 9-hour period and 2 were fatal due to the drug.

There was a significant discovery over the past few weeks in Ohio. Heroin, which has been the cause of more than 23 deaths a week, as of late is being cut with elephant tranquilizers and other cutting agents.

The problem with elephant tranquilizers is huge and to put it into perspective a 10-milligram dose of Carfentanil is so powerful it has the strength to sedate and even kill a 13,500-pound elephant. A diluted dose of the same weight could kill up to 500 people.

Carfentanil is the most potent commercially available opioid in the world and is 10,000 times stronger than morphine. Law enforcement agencies from Canada and the United States, both have been reporting tainted batches of heroin containing elephant tranquilizers and even starting to see that the street heroin is not even heroin at all, but completely made up of elephant tranquilizers and cutting agents being sold as China white. 

When a dealer cuts his heroin with Carfentanil, it can offer a harder-hitting and longer-lasting high that will bring back steady customers as well as increase their profitability. However, the users do not always get the same purity and consistency in their heroin, leading to the uprise in heroin-related deaths in Ohio.

This is the biggest heroin epidemic that Ohio has seen and Ohio has taken the best approach to the problem treatment and education as opposed to incarceration. This approach will be the only answer to the problem as in the past, police officers and judges took the approach of locking up and arresting addicts only fueling the problem. Ohio has decided to make treatment and drug testing part of the solution through its offense forgiveness programs.

In Akron, Ohio alone, paramedics responded to 236 overdoses in a three-week period this July 2016. Police and paramedics also reported similar trends reaching into the suburbs.

If you are a first-time offender, you may be eligible for consideration in the pre-trial diversion programs that the state of Ohio has set up for those suffering from heroin addiction. 

The prosecuting attorney may establish pre-trial diversion programs for adults who are accused of committing criminal offenses and whom the prosecuting attorney believes probably will not offend again. The prosecuting attorney may require, as a condition of an accused’s participation in the program, the accused to pay a reasonable fee for supervision services that include, but are not limited to, monitoring and drug testing. The programs shall be operated pursuant to written standards approved by journal entry by the presiding judge or, in courts with only one judge.

Some factors a person must meet in order to qualify for a drug court program in Ohio include, but are not limited to:

Ohio expanded its drug court in 1996 by adopting a bill to grant probation to 4th and 5th decree felony drug offenders instead of prison or jail time. Recently they have added drug courts to bring the total for the state to 90 courts for diversion programs and monitoring of felony drug offenders. This is a significant step in the right direction for the state amidst the ongoing heroin epidemic that Ohio found itself in the middle of. 

The counselors at Addiction No More ®, have been monitoring the heroin problem throughout the country and have been seeing a significant increase in people seeking treatment for their heroin addiction in Ohio.  This has been going on for the last 4 years at an increasingly alarming rate. Some of this is due in part, to the crackdown on prescription medications, and overprescribing has removed a good majority of the opioid medications that end up on the streets. This prescription crackdown has driven the need for an alternative to prescription medications to help those who are in a painful withdrawal and can’t afford their drugs. The new white powder form of heroin can be alluring to those seeking a reprieve from opioid withdrawal. The cost of a single dose of Ohio street heroin can be significantly less and offer a longer-lasting high. 

With the recent discovery of elephant tranquilizers in some of the heroin and Fentanyl in most of the heroin throughout the state, the chances of overdosing are greater than it has ever been. If you or a loved one has a problem with heroin, please do not hesitate to seek treatment. This call may save your life or the life of someone you love. 1 in 5 people in Ohio knows someone using heroin according to CNN news and chances are, you know someone who does need help. There has never been a better reason to enter into treatment for your addiction. Act now and save your life or the life of someone you love. People are dying from fatal overdoses at an alarming rate so do not let your name be added to the list of casualties.

What is needed is more long-term Heroin treatment programs in Ohio, specifically designed for the treatment of heroin addiction. Studies have shown that long-term treatment has a better result when treating heroin addiction. Private treatment programs frequently offer the best solution when their program lasts for 45 days or longer. The main problem we have seen is trying to get the insurance companies to want to pay for treatment longer than 28 days and contacting them without representation can lead to denial of services, which is their main goal. Insurance companies do not want to spend money and they have specific loopholes designed in their policies to minimize their expenditures when it comes to substance abuse services. Do not contact your insurance company. Let the rehab that you have chosen, work on your behalf so you will get the maximum benefits available and be able to receive quality treatment with minimal to no out-of-pocket expense. 

To help with the heroin epidemic, Addiction No More ® has set up a heroin addiction hotline and treatment locator service open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. We see the need for more help in locating state-funded treatment and private rehab centers for heroin addiction. We can help with drug court cases for those with pending felony drug charges. Start the journey today and give us a call. All of our counselors have had an addiction in the past and really know what it takes to get over heroin addiction. With the state of the heroin supply in Ohio, we recommend stopping the ride and jumping on the sobriety train. Call us and let’s start the journey together.