Cleveland area has 14 suspected overdose deaths from weekend

CLEVELAND (AP) — The medical examiner in Cleveland says at least 14 people in the area died of suspected heroin or fentanyl overdoses between Friday and Sunday, bringing the total to two dozen in less than a week.

The office says Cuyahoga County had at least 46 fatal overdoses in January that were attributed to those drugs. It has half that number of suspected overdose deaths in the first five days of February.

The weekend cases involved mostly Cleveland residents and mostly men. They ranged in age from 23 to 57.

More than 500 people died from overdoses in the county last year, nearly all from the effects of opiates such as painkillers and heroin.

Ohio has taken steps to address the problem, but many experts believe the opiate crisis is worsening.