TCC Report Card 2017 - Substance Abuse

SUBSTANCE ABUSE GOAL: Reduce substance abuse and its related problems in Calhoun County

OPIATE/HEROIN OVERDOSE: Taken as prescribed, opioids can be used to manage pain safely and effectively but, when abused, even a single large dose can cause severe respiratory distress and death. National data show that prescription medications, such as those to treat pain, are being abused at a rate second only to marijuana among illicit drug users. The consequences, seen in treatment admissions, emergency room visits and overdose deaths, are worsening. Heroin is an opioid drug that is synthesized from morphine. In 2016, there were 152 heroin overdoses and 89 overdoses from opioids that exclude heroin. Local data shows that the greatest number of overdoses is occurring among Whites (Caucasians). While historically there have been a greater number of opioid overdoses than heroin overdoses among females, that trend has been shifting in the last two years.