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Area Police See Mini-Spike In Overdose Deaths

Dr. Tim Ingram, Hamilton County Health Commissioner, points out dark shaded areas where heroin overdoses are most prevalent.
Ann Thompson
/
WVXU
Dr. Tim Ingram, Hamilton County Health Commissioner, points out dark shaded areas where heroin overdoses are most prevalent.

Cincinnati Police, the Coroner's Office and City officials are putting drug users and first responders on alert that there's another tainted batch of heroin back on the streets. Nine addicts died this weekend in Price Hill and Delhi Township."Ever played roulette? Because we don't know what you are going to get," Hamilton County Coroner Lakshmi Sammarco said at a Monday news conference.

Dr. Sammarco says it could be mixed with fetenil, carfentanil, ketamine or something else.

Chief Tom Synan with the Hamilton County Heroin Coalition told reporters, "We are a gerbil spinning on a wheel and that is what we are doing right now. And it's not a lack of effort or that we're not trying, and it's not a lack of minds. We need to look at this differently and we need the state to give us funding."

The Coalition plans to go to Columbus in March to ask for more money to deal with the heroin problem.

Treatment providers like Hamilton County's Addiction Services Council are being taxed. The Council helped 12 users Monday. In Ohio, to get treatment, call 513-281-7880. In Kentucky, it's 859-415-9280.

The Coalition urges family and friends of users to carry naloxone with them at all times to counteract the effects of heroin.

Just last summer, a tainted heroin supply caused eight people to fatally overdose.

The Justice Department charged one Elmwood Place couple with distribution. It is believed to be the first carfentanil trafficking case ever brought in the State of Ohio.

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With more than 30 years of journalism experience in the Greater Cincinnati market, Ann Thompson brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her reporting. She has reported for WKRC, WCKY, WHIO-TV, Metro Networks and CBS/ABC Radio. Her work has been recognized by the Associated Press and the Society of Professional Journalists. In 2019 and 2011 A-P named her “Best Reporter” for large market radio in Ohio. She has won awards from the Association of Women in Communications and the Alliance for Women in Media. Ann reports regularly on science and technology in Focus on Technology.