‘Survivor’ contestant talks movingly of sister’s overdose death
Elie Scott, a psychologist from Georgia, revealed in this season’s first episode of ‘Survivor’ that she’d lost her older sister to overdose in 2020. It’s a moving example of a tragedy that has become common to a generation of young adults. Please watch.
What Ohio’s $1 billion opioid settlement can be spent on
The OneOhio opioid settlement is harm reduction friendly agreement…even if the board controlling most money is not. It’s important to remember that Ohio’s opioid settlement agreement is OK; it’s bungled execution of the agreement that has turned the OneOhio into a shipwreck. Read the list of intended uses yourself to understand why politicians trying to turn the settlement into a secret slush fund is so tragic.
Ohio sets new record for weeks with 100+ overdose deaths
The pace of overdose death in Ohio continues at a horrific level, far worse than even three years ago. Drug use is not the cause of Ohio’s overdose death epidemic. The drug war is the cause. Harm Reduction Ohio explains our state’s self-inflicted tragedy and what can be done to stop the overdose epidemic.
OneOhio Opioid Settlement Board’s Latest Accomplishment: An Even Whiter Shade of Pale
The OneOhio opioid settlement board added more White board members and started hiring staff. Everyone is White. Well, not everyone. Black residents make up 14% of Ohio’s population and 20% of opioid deaths. They just don’t matter to OneOhio, which claims it can operate secretly like a private club. Except this isn’t 1952. Segregation and racial discrimination is not acceptable. The shipwreck that is the OneOhio opioid settlement continues its race to the bottom.
OneOhio opioid settlement board to approve secrecy policy on Wednesday
The OneOhio opioid settlement board plans vote Wednesday to approve a policy of operating in secrecy. OneOhio will oversee spending 55% of Ohio’s $1 billion opioid settlement. Even though the settlement agreement signed by the governor and attorney general said OneOhio would comply with open meetings and public records law, OneOhio now says it won’t because…well, just cuz.
Ohio versus the United States: What does this chart tell us about overdose death in Ohio?
A new chart comparing Ohio’s overdose death rate to the national average from 1999 through 2021 reveals a lot about the cause of our state’s overdose crisis. It requires us to consider the possibility that well-intentioned actions had catastrophic consequences that we did not expected.
Cleveland singer’s moving song about the loss of her brother to overdose
Grace Blackford captures in song the lasting grief of losing a loved one to overdose. Her brother, Mark, died in 2009 when Grace was 14 years old and a student at Pleasant High School in Marion, Ohio.
The state of Ohio launches new site to order naloxone
The state of Ohio launched a centralized web site for individuals, organizations, businesses and first responders who want to order naloxone, the overdose-reversing drug. The site is called NaloxoneOhio. Harm Reduction Ohio, the state’s largest naloxone distributor, supports a centralized ordering site but won’t participate because it has no capacity to handle additional orders.
Overdose Awareness Day Events in Ohio: How to honor the 40,000 deaths of Ohioans since 2010
More than 40,000 Ohio residents have died from accidental drug overdoses since 2010. August 31 is International Overdose Awareness Day, a opportunity to memorialize the many beautiful people we’ve lost. The articlel inckudes a list of Overdose Awareness Day events in Ohio.
What it means: Final Ohio Overdose Death Numbers for 2021
The final overdose death counts are in for 2021. Last year’s toll was heartbreaking. In a series of charts, Harm Reduction Ohio takes an in-depth look, drug by drug, at how things have changed over the last 15 yers.
Former House Speaker Armond Budish serving on OneOhio opioid settlement board without valid appointment
Armond Budish says he is a member of the OneOhio opioid settlement board because he won a coin flip with Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb. Is that how control of Ohio’s $1 billion opioid settlement works? Welcome to the wild and wacky world of the OneOhio opioid settlement! (Note: OneOhio is a Private Club. Public not invited.)
Naloxone Kits Provided by State Government, First Six Months of 2022
Harm Reduction Ohio received 12,400 naloxone kits from the state pharmacy in the first half of 2022. That was 15.1% of the 82,000 kits provided by state government to 148 naloxone providers in the first six months of 2022. We provide a complete list of who got what. See how you local efforts did.
OneOhio opioid settlement board to fight for right to operate in secrecy
The OneOhio foundation opioid settlement board met for the first time since being sued for violating open meetings and public records laws. The meeting was entertaining, in its own way.
How to watch to OneOhio Recovery Foundation meeting online
The OneOhio Recovery Foundation, a government board that controls 55% of Ohio’s $1 billion opioid settlement, meets today at noon. You can attend in person or online.
No talking: Opioid settlement board to let public watch meeting but not speak to board
The OneOhio opioid settlement board will meet again Wednesday. The board has decided “voluntarily” to let the public silently watch — but not speak. This is what stigma looks like — a belief that people touched by opioids are not worth listening because government knows best. This is no way to spend $1 billion.
Harm Reduction Ohio files suit against Ohio’s opioid settlement board for acting in secrecy
The OneOhio Recovery Foundation, a state board that will spend 55% of Ohio’s $1 billion opioid settlement, claims it is exempt from open meetings and public records law. Harm Reduction Ohio disagrees, saying $500 million+ in opioid settlement money can’t be spent in secret.
Ohio’s State Opioid Response grant: the $97.4 million plan for 2023
The new federal State Opioid Response grant will pay Ohio $97.4 million annually over the next two years. We provide Ohio’s spending for you to read.
What naloxone price cuts mean for preventing overdose deaths
A revolution in naloxone distribution may be near. Big drops in the cost of naloxone will let the state to redirect millions of dollars to improving how naloxone is delivered and overdoses are prevented. We discuss what generic naloxone nasal spray means for the future of naloxone distribution in Ohio.
Nitazene opioids in Ohio’s Drug Supply: How big a problem?
Nitazenes, a class of opioids created in the 1950s, have become more common in Ohio. However, the drugs, which come mostly from Eastern Europe, remain relatively rare and have not caused a noticeable change in overdose death. In Ohio, fentanyl and its analogs remain the overwhelming drivers of overdose death, especially among people who use cocaine and meth.
Ohio counties with the highest (and lowest) overdose deaths rates since 2020
Where does your county rank? See a list of the 25 Ohio counties with the worst overdose death rates, and the 10 counties with the lowest rates.
Black residents share of opioid deaths soars to record level in Ohio
Black residents account for 20% of opioid overdose deaths so far in 2022. That’s far above the share of our state’s population (14%) made up of Black residents and a big increase from 2014 when Black residents made up 8% of opioid overdoses. We , as a state, need to adjust our response to the overdose crisis to reflect this enormous change in demographics.
VIDEOS: Harm Reduction Ohio Public Policy Series
Harm Reduction Ohio’s October Public Policy Series.
Recordings now availableÂ
- October 25, 2021 – Ohio Opioid Settlements: How To Spend $1 Billion
- October 18, 2021 – Worse Than Ever: Overdose Death in Ohio
- October 11, 2021 – Ohio Drug Courts: Through Participants’ Eyes
- October 4, 2021 – Kinship Care: What Ohio Children Need
Ohio Opioid Settlements: How To Spend $1 Billion Wisely
October 25, 2021
Host: Dennis Cauchon, President, Harm Reduction Ohio
Panelists:
- Christine Minhee, Soros Justice Fellow; founder, opioidsettlementtracker.com
- Scott and Wes Weidle, impact family members; co-authors, Little Lost Boy: A Dose of Reality
- Mark Hurst, former medical director, Ohio Department of Health
Worse Than Ever: Overdose Death in Ohio
October 18, 2021
Host: Dan Brook, MD/PhD Student, Ohio State University
Prayer: Bishop Marcia Dinkins
Panelists:
- Shae Dalrymple, Communications Director, Harm Reduction Ohio
- Jaime Iten, Epidemiologist, Ohio Department of Health
- Orman Hall, Former Director,, Governor’s Cabinet Opiate Action Team
Ohio Drug Courts: Through Participants’ Eyes
October 11, 2021
Host: Molly N. True, Board Member, Harm Reduction Ohio
Panelists:
- Allie Mikolanis, Public Policy Fellow, Harm Reduction Ohio
- Gary Daniels, Chief Lobbyist, ACLU of Ohio
- Sarah Blake, Drug Court Participant
Kinship Care: What Ohio Children Need
October 4, 2021
Host: AmandaLynn Reese, Director, Outreach and Engagement, Harm Reduction Ohio
Panelists:
- Sarah Palazzo, Public Health Fellow, Harm Reduction Ohio
- Dawn Pullin, Director, Behavorial Health and Addiction, Northeast Ohio Black Health Coalition
- Brenda Cameron Ryan, Founder/Director, Keys to Serenity
VIDEO: Sam Snodgrass, PhD, “The Struggle for Survival: Opioids, Addiction, and the Brain”
Watch the keynote talk at Harm Reduction Ohio’s annual conference.
This hourlong video presents Sam Snodgrass’s keynote talk at Harm Reduction Ohio’s annual conference in April. It deserves your time and attention.
Sam holds a doctorate in biopsychology and had a research fellowship from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. He lost it all from an addiction to opioids. Several parents who lost a child to overdose told us they did not fully understand what happed and what their child was going through until they heard’s Sam’s talk at the Harm Reduction Coalition’s conference in New Orleans or elsewhere.
Sam Snodgrass, PhD
Sam’s talk his three major parts, each one fascinating in its own right:
- His personal journey from successful academic at medical school to a homeless opioid addict who’d lost everything.
- The neuroscience behind opioids and addiction.
- Why harm reduction is crucial to reducing overdose deaths and other destructive consequences of current drug policies.
Mary
Special thanks to Mary Stafford, a mother who lost a son to overdose and did not understand what happened until hearing Sam’s talk. She hired a professional video crew to record Sam’s talk at HRO’s conference. The recording was made for Broken No More, a family organization that hopes “more enlightened drug policies may help stem the tide of addiction and overdose.”
A big thanks to Sam, Mary and Laura Cash, a board member of both Harm Reduction Ohio and Broken No More.