A day after Ohio’s attorney general sued five drug makers for their role in the state’s opioid crisis, Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor is opening up about her own family’s struggles with addition.
Taylor tells the Dayton Daily News both of her sons have struggled with opiate addiction, although she wouldn’t say if it was heroin or painkillers. She said both men, now in their mid 20s, are doing well, although one remains in drug treatment.
“There have been times when we as a family have been in crisis," Taylor says. "We are fortunate to have found the type of treatment that was necessary to restore sanity in our family.”
Despite being one of the most politcally-connected people in the state, Taylor says she often felt "helpless" about her sons' struggles with addiction.
Taylor declined WOSU’s request for an interview, saying she wanted to share her family’s story, but thought further shining a spotlight on it would hurt their recovery.
Taylor has said she’s running for Ohio governor next year, but hasn’t officially declared.
Ohio led the nation with 3,050 fatal drug overdoses in 2015. That was more than 20 percent higher than 2014, and authorities say preliminary statistics show a similar jump in 2016.
