Trumbull leaders discuss heroin epidemic at symposium tonight

WARREN

Trumbull County had an apparent record-high 87 deaths from drug overdoses in 2015, and Warren led the way with 32, county Coroner Dr. Humphrey Germaniuk said at a symposium tonight sponsored by Warren City Council.

Dr. Germaniuk shared newly finalized 2015 statistics that showed Niles and Howland each had 12 deaths, and Liberty and Girard had four. About a dozen other communities had either one or two deaths, including the Trumbull Correctional Institution.

About 80 people attended the event in council chambers. After the speakers had finished, the floor was open for questions and comments from the public.

Since 2006, when overdose statistics started being recorded by the coroner’s office, the previous high overdose-death total was 64 in 2007. There were 54 in 2014.

But early in 2015, authorities started noticing surges in overdose deaths and later confirmed suspicions that they were related to an influx of heroin laced with fentanyl, which is much more powerful than heroin.

Read more about the problem in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.