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    • While Ohio sees nearly 10 percent drop in overdose deaths, friends of victims say it’s not enough • Ohio Capital Journal
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    While Ohio sees nearly 10 percent drop in overdose deaths, friends of victims say it’s not enough • Ohio Capital Journal

    Online Niel Posted on

    Ohio has seen a nearly 10 percent drop in accidental overdose deaths, but a victim’s closest friend says much more needs to be done to save lives.

    It’s been a year since then, and not a day goes by that Brevin Bryant doesn’t think about his best friend, Caley Koppler.

    “If there was one thing I could say — it’s ‘I miss you,'” Bryant said.

    It’s one of nearly 3,500 fentanyl-related deaths Ohio could see in 2023, with the drug accounting for 78 percent of overdoses that year.

    Deputies with the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office confirmed they are still investigating Koppler’s death.

    “What is being done about it?” Bryant asked.

    Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine tried to answer that question Wednesday. He announced that the state is making progress in combating unintentional drug overdoses.

    There was a 9% decrease in deaths in 2023 compared to 2022, according to a the new state report.

    “There’s still a lot, a lot of work to do,” DeWine said. “But I want to let Ohioans know that we are seeing some progress.”

    Graph of overdose deaths from the Ohio Department of Health.

    He attributed the success of naloxone, or Narcan, to expanding access to treatment and combating drug trafficking.

    “Last year alone, the Ohio Department of Health confirmed that more than 20,000 overdoses were reversed with naloxone obtained through our administration’s Project Dawn,” the governor continued.

    Narcan is a great start, Bryant said, but it won’t help someone who uses it alone, so the government needs to think bigger.

    “Depression, anxiety, the price of housing, food, gas — all these things add up,” Bryant said. “There is so much stress on people and some people don’t know how to manage it.”

    I asked what is being done to stop substance abuse before it starts, other than law enforcement intercepting drugs or locking up dealers.

    “We’re also helping to spread evidence-based prevention programs to more schools across the state,” said LeeAnne Cornyn of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

    DeWine explained that there is a “holistic” approach to helping people.

    We asked how many people were actively addicted in 2023 vs. 2022 and check if they have hard data or estimates on this. Meanwhile, the governor’s team has linked us to a national report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

    For 2021-2022, there are likely 1,095,000 Ohioans age 12 and older with a drug use disorder, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health reported. However, “drug use” includes marijuana products.

    Specifically for opioid use, there were likely 253,000 Ohioans age 12 and older with a disorder in 2021-2022, the report continued.

    Bryant hopes the state will continue to work to save lives so people like Koppler can get the help they need.

    Follow WEWS state reporter Morgan Trau on X and Facebook.

    This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, this one is not available for free republishing by other news outlets because it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.

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