Judge George P. McCarthy announced that he and other Athens
County officials attended the first ever Ohio Judicial Symposium on Opiate
Addiction held in Columbus on June 30, 2014.
Judges, law enforcement, treatment providers and others
assembled to discuss the opiate epidemic in Ohio as well as to discuss judicial
practices and options for opiate addiction treatment, including
medication-assisted treatment including buprenorphine (Suboxone),
naltrexone (Vivitrol) and methadone. McCarthy
said that the event addressed both the abuse of prescription opiate medication
such as oxycodone, as well as the escalating use of heroin that has now become
problematic throughout Ohio.
Judge McCarthy said there were 83 counties represented at the
symposium which was presented by the Ohio Supreme Court, the Ohio Department of
Rehabilitation and Correction, the Ohio Department of Mental Health and
Addiction Services, the Governor’s Cabinet Opiate Action Team, and the Office
of Criminal Justice Services. The event
was hosted by the Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities.
From Athens, Judge McCarthy assembled a team that included
Athens County Commissioner Lenny Eliason, Dr. Joe Gay from Health Recovery
Services, Judge Tom Hodson on behalf of Athens County Municipal Court, Asst.
Prosecutor John Haseley from Athens County Prosecutor Keller Blackburn’s
Office, Max Shorr from the Athens County Adult Parole Authority, plus Diane
Pfaff, Svea Maxwell and Bill Dunlap from
the 317 Board.
“I was happy to see that so many from our community were
willing to give up their day to attend and participate,” McCarthy said. “They
were all happy to do so and we have good participation in discussing what we
could do to help Athens County.”
McCarthy said that getting addicts treatment and counselling
to address the underlying problem is what his court and a lot of other courts
focus on. But when someone refuses to
comply with treatment requirements or does not wish to participate, prison becomes
the one of the last options the court has. “It’s unfortunate but a person has to really want
to change for treatment to be effective,”
McCarthy said. “The court’s forcing them into treatment does
not automatically make them well.” Typically
these people require long term treatment
and counselling to be successful in recovery.
“The physical changes in the brain and the damage caused by
opiate abuse are almost incomprehensible.”
McCarthy said one of the
analogies that stuck with him was that a person abusing opiate drugs was similar
to “hitting someone in the head with a bat or baseball” according to one of the
presenters. “When someone is hit in the head and gets
dizzy, they seem to recover rather quickly because their speech and
coordination usually return fairly quickly.
However, it is over the next several days that their brain may swell or
there might be bleeding causing further complications. They look normal on the outside but their
brain may be getting damaged as time goes on.”
Opiate drug abuse use can be similar. “When
the “high” is over, the person seems to be functioning reasonable normal. However, the damage to the brain occurs over
the next several days or weeks from the time of using the drug.” And
the damage takes unusually long to heal once any drug usage stops. Add to that the addiction part of the brain is
in overdrive and you can see why people need long periods of treatment to
overcome the addiction.
“That was part of the problem with Marion Riggs,” according
to McCarthy. Part of the symposium was a presentation
concerning Marion Riggs, a 20 year old from Pickerington who dies from an
overdose.
According to McCarthy, “Riggs was a 20 year old middle class
girl who had everything going for her who suddenly passed away from a drug
overdose. She was a high school basketball player. She was captain of her golf
team. She tried to face her addiction with
the help of her parents. She did two
stints in a rehab program to try to deal with her addiction. She would cry that she wanted to stop. . . and she still used and died from an overdose
of heroin. We’ve got to do everything we
can to prevent that from happening here in Athens County,” McCarthy said. McCarthy
went on to say that the most concerning part is that people do not think it
will happen to someone in their family.
They think of heroin is some other families’ problem. But Riggs is not an isolated case. There are cases like that occurring all over
Ohio. That prompted the symposium to
take place.
McCarthy said Athens County is trying to address the issue in
addition to law enforcement, the
prosecutor’s office and the courts.
McCarthy says he has been attending the local Athens County Opiate Task Force which looks to
address the increasing opiate use in Athens County.
According to McCarthy, there are many disciplines at the Opiate
Task Force table including various treatment providers, the prosecutor’s
office, the 317 Board, the court, and even
a doctor, all looking at ways to intervene in this epidemic. The people involved in this voluntarily
organization have all seen dramatic increases in heroin and prescription drug opiate
use and everyone is alarmed over the increase.”
McCarthy says he has also attended Trimble Township’s
Bridgebuilders meetings in Glouster where community members have taken an active
role at the local level. “They are
trying just as hard to deal with the opiate and over all drug usage in their
area as well,” he said. They are also
trying to think up ways to keep students from using drugs. They
are looking at education of parents and youth as to the dangers of opiate use as
well as trying to find activities that help steer youth away from drug use in the
first place.
McCarthy said everyone needs to stay alert for this type of
problem. “Users can keep their addiction
well hidden. So that if you suspect a
family member is using heroin or abusing painkillers, it’s worth pressing them
if they are.” Of course, others can’t
conceal their usage after a certain point.
Marion Riggs’ mom commented that
her spoons kept coming up missing which triggered her concern. “In either case
getting an addict to treatment just might save their life,” McCarthy said.
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