Deaths from prescription painkillers in Ohio soar

CAssociated Press

LEVELAND

As state officials in Ohio look to tackle prescription drug abuse, the number of opiate overdose deaths in Ohio’s largest county in one year mirrors the total statewide a decade ago.

The Plain Dealer in Cleveland reports most Cuyahoga County communities have been affected by deaths from prescription painkillers or the street drug heroin.

Drug overdoses have topped car crashes as the leading cause of accidental death in Ohio for the past few years. State data shows heroin and addictive medications that are similar to it accounted for more than 750 of the nearly 1,400 drug deaths in 2009.

The director of Ohio’s Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services says prescription opiates are like pharmaceutical-grade heroin, and the prescription drug problem is driving a heroin problem.