Ultra Pure Heroin And Overdose
The Grand Rapids Press recently reported that there has been an increase in Ultra Pure Heroin entering the country from Mexico and that this has led to an increase in overdose fatalities around the country. What the Grand Rapids Press fails to mention is that overdose has consistently been a major problem in Kent County for the past few years. In 2006, 2007 and 2008, according to data from the Kent County Medical Examiner, drug overdose was the second leading cause of accidental death of all people in Kent County under the age of 65. The only thing that kills more people in Kent County accidentally is automobile accidents.
What this article also fails to mention is that there are things that can be done to reduce the death toll from drug overdoses. Much like wearing a seat belt in a car can reduce fatality from automobile accidents, training people who use drugs how to prevent and respond to overdoses can reduce fatality arising from them. The organization that has taken the lead in this has been the Chicago Recovery Alliance. Contrary to nationwide trends over the past decade, the heroin overdose rate in Cook County has actually been going down since the Chicago Recovery Alliance began training people who use drugs in how to prevent and respond to overdoses.
Clean Works, the harm reduction program of The Grand Rapids Red Project, has also been training people who use drugs in how to prevent and respond to overdoses since October of 2008. Since that time participants in our program have used the tools and information we put in their hands to reverse a minimum of 27 drug overdoses right here in Kent County. These are 27 citizens of Kent County who might not be alive today if not for the information and life saving tools provided at the Clean Works program.
So, the Grand Rapids Press got it right, overdose is and has been a huge problem nationwide and right here in Kent County. What The Press failed to mention though is that there is a solution, one part of which is training people who use drugs in how to prevent and respond to overdoses.
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