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Drug overdoses are now killing more Americans under the age of 50 than any other cause

Erie Times-News - 4/15/2018

Drug overdoses are now killing more Americans under the age of 50 than any other cause. Pennsylvania has the country's fourth-highest death rate from drug overdoses.

In Erie County, 2017 was the deadliest year on record for drug overdoses, averaging just over 10 deaths per month, according to numbers compiled by Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook. These deaths include accidental drug overdoses, not intentional deaths or suicides.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, anyone who takes prescription opioids can become addicted to them. Medications such as codeine, fentanyl, hydrocodone, morphine and oxycodone can change how your brain works.

Addiction is not a lack of willpower. It's a disease.

Solving a problem this large can seem at times like trying to empty an ocean with an eyedropper, but all of us can play a role in keeping our families and community safe

Opioid abuse most often starts when someone else gains access to your prescription medications. The first step is to store your medications so no one can find, open or steal them.

Take your expired or unused medications to one of the Erie County Department of Health's 13 medication return units located throughout the county at law enforcement agencies and campus police departments. Call 451-6700 or visit www.ecdh.org for a location near you.

Opioid and heroin addiction doesn't just affect the person involved, but also impacts family members and friends. If someone you know is addicted to opioids or heroin, learn about the life-saving drug naloxone. Administered in time, naloxone reverses the effects of an opioid overdose.

Anyone in Pennsylvania can get naloxone from a local pharmacy. Rachel Levine, M.D., Pennsylvania's acting secretary of health and physician general, has signed a standing order prescription so anyone in the state can get naloxone.

Mary B. Johnson is a public health educator with the Erie County Department of Health.