Map attached shows 2016 Allen County ODPS
Collaborative Drug Initiative findings.

Illegal drug usage, particularly heroin and other opioids, was the topic of a Bluffton Public Library Community Issues Series on Ohio’s drug epidemic.

Nearly 20 persons attended the noon program on March 9. Ryan Burkholder, Bluffton police chief, and Tyler Hostetler, Bluffton police sergeant, presented the program.

Chief Burkholder said that Bluffton police find themselves addressing these problems differently than in the past due to Ohio’s changing drug laws.

For example, Ohio’s Good Samaritan Law enacted in 2016 protects callers and overdose victims from arrest or prosecution for simple drug possession or being under the influence.

He told his audience that Bluffton police participate in Project DAWN (Deaths Avoided with Naloxone). It involves community-based overdose education and naloxone distribution.

Bluffton police have Project DAWN kits in their cruisers. This allows police to administer a medication that can reverse an overdose caused by an opioid drug.

According to Chief Burkholder, Bluffton police have used the kit three times. One of those times was several weeks ago, when police and EMS were called to the scene of a potential drug overdose in rural Bluffton.

Often starts with pain pills
Burkholder said that drug overdose often starts when someone is on pain pills and becomes addicted. Offering this statistic to back up his statement: four of five new heroin users started out misusing prescription painkillers.

He said that the majority of addiction cases in Bluffton are prescription-related, where the person is dependant on a painkiller.

The good news is that because Bluffton police officers are first responders, they are trained in dealing with persons experiencing a drug overdose.

The not-so-good news is that police and health officials are fighting a growing problem.

“My goal is to give people a better understanding of the problem,” he said.  “People with a drug problem will find any means to get drugs as the addiction has taken over their life.”

Adding, law enforcement officers are in an awkward spot when responding to a person who as overdosed.

“Do we save a life or send the person to jail?” Burkholder asked. His opinion is that the person needs to get help because for some of these cases, it’s not the person’s fault.

He added: “(Bluffton police) we are here for a lot of different things, not just police enforcement.”

There are several sources for help and additional information available to addicted persons and their family members.

Among these are:

• Crisis Text Line: Text 4Hope to 741741. This is a free 24-hour text line for people in crisis.

• 855-BCI-OHIO (855-224-6446). This is a toll-free number provided by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. Persons may confidentially report people suspected of inappropriately prescribing or distributing prescription drugs.

• 877-275-6364. Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, where someone can find a treatment provider in the area.

• www.drugfreeactionalliance.org, or 614-540-9985

• TAP – The Addict’s Parents United. www.theaddictsparentsunited.org

• Safe Harbor House, www.safeharborhouse.org

• Lumiere Healing Centers, [email protected], 513-644-2277, ext. 1413