Latest news with #KentuckyOfficeofDrugControlPolicy
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Kentucky fatal overdoses decreased again in 2024
Narcan is an opioid reversal treatment. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Sarah Ladd). For the third year in a row, Kentucky saw a decrease in fatal drug overdoses, Gov. Andy Beshear announced Thursday. Still, 1,410 Kentuckians died from an overdose last year, according to the 2024 Drug Overdose Fatality Report, which was released Thursday. 'That's 1,410 too many people that we lost,' Beshear said. 'These are people's friends and family members, each one a child of God taken from us far too soon.' In 2023, Kentucky had 1,984 overdose deaths, which was a decrease from the 2,135 lost in 2022. Black Kentuckians also saw a decrease in 2024, a reversal from previous years. In 2024, 170 Black Kentuckians died from a drug overdose, a decrease from 259 in 2022 and 264 in 2023. The report does not break down deaths across all races. It shows 1,216 of the 2024 deaths were white Kentuckians, 170 were Black and 24 were of an 'other' race. This decrease means 'that this good news has come for all of our Kentucky communities,' Beshear said. Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, is still a key culprit in killing Kentuckians. Fentanyl was present in 62% of the 2024 deaths and methamphetamine was present in 51%, according to the report. 'Those two continue to be the most prevalent and ultimately most deadly drugs found in overdoses,' Beshear said. The counties with the highest rates of fatal drug overdoses were Lee, Knott, Breathitt, Powell and Estill, according to the report — all Eastern Kentucky counties. The age range most affected were Kentuckians 35-44, with 379 deaths in that age range. Five children aged 4 or under died from drug overdose in 2024; fewer than 5 died between the ages of 5-14. Van Ingram, the executive director for the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy, said 'we still lost 1,400 Kentuckians, and so our work's not finished, not by a long shot, it's just time to get back to work.' Beshear cited prevention efforts such as Narcan distribution, syringe exchange programs and treatment recovery programs in driving the numbers down. The report says that for 2024: $29,754,033 was distributed in grant and pass-through funding from the Office of Drug Control Policy. 170,000 doses of Narcan were distributed. 84 syringe exchange program sites served 27,799 unique participants. 142,312 Kentuckians received addiction services through Medicaid. 17,399 Kentuckians received treatment paid by Kentucky Opioid Response Effort. 17,984 Kentuckians received recovery services like house assistance, employment services, transportation and basic need services in their community paid by Kentucky Opioid Response Effort. 3,329 incoming calls were made to the KY HELP Call Center with 14,087 outgoing follow up calls. 21 counties now certified as Recovery Ready Communities representing 1,495,518 Kentuckians. Kentuckians living with addiction can call Kentucky's help line at 833-859-4357. Narcan, which can help reverse overdoses, is available at pharmacies for sale and through some health departments and outreach programs for free. The legislature decriminalized fentanyl test strips in 2023, meaning Kentuckians can use them to legally check substances for the presence of fentanyl. 'Today's news should be very meaningful to all Kentuckians, and it ought to tell us that an epidemic that arose in our time, we should be able to defeat in our time,' Beshear said. 'This is not something we should leave for our kids and our grandkids. This is something we should continue to strive to do better, better, better at addressing.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Owensboro's efforts to fight the fentanyl epidemic
OWENSBORO, Ky. (WEHT) — Recent reports by the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy show fentanyl involved in over 70 percent of overdose deaths in the state. 'The fentanyl on the streets [is] currently 100 times more potent than morphine. Most of the time they're pressed pills so you don't really know how much you're getting that makes it more dangerous. It was really pushed in the poor communities…Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, things like that, mining communities ,' says Melanie Stanishia, a psychiatric mental health nurse at RVBH. Experts say the drug—was originally designed to alleviate severe pain that follows surgeries and injuries sustained in the military—but was altered in the nineties to be more addictive. It also sends dopamine, a feel good hormone, into overdrive. In Owensboro, River Valley Behavioral Health says one of the biggest challenges is it's commonly used without people knowing …in almost any drug people have access to.'So, you could buy a marijuana pen and then find out that it has fentanyl in it. We have tested people for that, and they do have it in there. It's not necessarily what you intended to buy or use, but that's how they're getting it in. There's a lot of times it is very unintentional,'says Stanishia. RVBH is working to save lives through medical assisted treatment, which combines FDA approved medications, like Suboxone. It's combined with counseling to help what they describe as the 'whole person'. The goal is to get people through the hardest parts of withdrawal and then slowly reduce the dose over time for clients as they move forward on their sobriety journey. 'Whenever you're coming down off of the drug, it's the worse it is literally the worst feeling you'll ever feel. You're just so nauseated. You have the sweats, tons of anxiety,' says Kattie Baker, who's currently enrolled in MAT at the facility. 'A lot of times people say [they] feel like they're crawling out of their skin,' says Stanishia. Studies on the treatment style show a 59 percent decrease in overdose deaths. Baker says MAT is what's helped her. She was sober for several years, and even enrolled herself in therapy, before realizing she needed help to stay the course.'You're want to use… It completely blocks it out. [At least] for me, it does. People can be clean for ten years and still have triggers. I was getting to that point where I was scared I was going to use. With the overdoses I've had in the past, I was very scared I was going to end up killing myself,' says Baker. Baker says she's looking forward to the day where she no longer relies on the medicine, but has since repaired her relationship with her family, regained custody of her daughter and rekindled things with her significant other. 'I started praying a lot, and I started leaning on God. I truly believe that that's one of the big reasons I [continue to be] successful in sobriety,' says Baker. That belief is something many in recovery hold onto, including women in the Friends of Sinners program, a Christian-based treatment center across town. Megan Stout and Kieara Aubrey, both 24-years-old, say their faith has made the difference. 'I've tried other programs before this, but secular programs. I just relapsed every time,' says Aubrey. 'I started using at the end of 2019…beginning of 2020. I used up until I got arrested June of 2023. I was in there for a while. I found God in that jail cell,' says Stout. Both women share stories of one drug leading to another and using the substance to work through anxiety, depression and even loss. 'It just numbed me to everything, numbed me from the world you know? At the end, it was to the point that I was using and not getting high anymore. I was ready to do something different,' says Aubrey. Aubrey has lost both of her parents, one to an overdose. She says giving her six-year-old son a life different than hers plays a huge factor. 'I've achieved a lot. I got my G.E.D.. I'm supposed to start school in August. I got a really good job. I just bought my first car. I'm doing really well. I've been through a lot with my parents and stuff, and I just don't want.. I want my son to have a better life than I did,' says Aubrey. Stout is just one month away from graduating out of the year-long program. '[Fentanyl] killed one of my best friends. This stuff is killing people. It's not worth it. I did get on the proper medication [for depression and anxiety] that I need. I always go to the bible, contact my sponsor, or I talk to one of the girls here. I go play with my nieces,' says Stout. As treatment options continue to evolve, officials say the goal remains the same: to turn the tide on addiction and give more people the chance to live a drug-free future. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
