OPIATE ABUSE IN WESTERN MARYLAND:
A GROWING CRISIS
Reporting by: Tiffany Gulick, Mykel Hutton, Maggie McBride, and Frank Princesa
Interstate 68 as seen from Sideling Hill in western Maryland. (Photo by Frank Princesa)
Cumberland, MD - 222 overdoses since
January 2016. 50 were administered the opiate-reversing naloxone, 34 resulting
in deaths. Compared to other states, these drug statistics seem low and
manageable, but for western Maryland it is a growing crisis.
“Opioids are natural or synthetic chemicals that bind to receptors in your brain or body. Common opioids include heroin and prescription drugs such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, and fentanyl,” according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
In October, Maryland Governor
Larry Hogan began a three-day tour of western Maryland by visiting Cumberland,
where opioid abuse is rapidly on the rise. He praised the work of the county’s
law enforcement, including the Maryland State Police and Cumberland Police
Department. Many of the county’s programs to combat opioid abuse is funded by
the Governor’s office, which is receiving a $17 million grant from the federal
government to be used to combat opioid addiction in Maryland, according to a
report by The Baltimore Sun.
With crimes on the rise
in Cumberland, MD, county officials are scrambling to find a solution to the
growing opioid abuse crisis. According to a 2014 report from the Federal Bureau
of Investigation, crime rate in Cumberland is 7.32 per 1,000 residents,
compared to the Maryland state average of 4.46 per 1,000 residents.
Violent Crime Rates (City of Cumberland
compared to State of Maryland)
Population
|
Violent Crimes
|
Rate per 1,000 residents
|
|
Maryland
|
5,976,407
|
26,661
|
4.46
|
Cumberland
|
20,364
|
149
|
7.32
|
Data from Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime in the
United States by Region, Geographic Division and State, 2014
Data from Federal Bureau of Investigation, Maryland Offenses
Known to Law Enforcement by City, 2014
Cumberland is located in
Allegany County, where the poverty rate is the third highest in the state of
Maryland. With the loss of manufacturing jobs and a housing crisis creating a
homeless problem, drug addicts in Cumberland have resorted to abusing heroin,
crack and powder cocaine, and prescription pain medications.
Fentanyl - A Maryland mother's story - Prescribe Change Allegany County | Facebook
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26-year-old Mishealah
McBride, or simply Shea, used to abuse opiate pain medications such as
Oxycontin and Percocet. Now living in Laurel, MD, she went to a rehabilitation center
and is living a sober life.
Misheala McBride during her pregnancy.
“I started experimenting
with drugs when I was 18,” she says. “At first it was only marijuana and random
club drugs. At that point in my life drug use was still pretty manageable.” A
year later, Shae’s problem first began when she started abusing opiate pain
medication. “I progressively used stronger versions of the drugs until I turned
to heroine at 22.” Shea knew that she had a problem as she had gone through her
first withdrawal on the cusp of age 21 but continued to use. The main thing
that made her quit was the birth and threat of losing her son due to her
habits. “For me, that’s what I would consider my ‘rock bottom’. The point at
which I was ready to accept that I needed to do something about my drug use.
This point is different for all addicts.”
"I had been using drugs to cover up the pain and emotions from a traumatic experience from when I was 16, so when I got clean I had to learn how to cope with those emotions without using."
Shae then went to a
rehabilitation facility on July 23, 2016 and the process was “difficult to say
the least”. “When I made the decision to get help I didn’t really grasp how
hard and painful the process was going to be. I had been using drugs to cover
up the pain and emotions from a traumatic experience from when I was 16, so
when I got clean I had to learn how to cope with those emotions without using.”
Her son, Liam helped her through the process. “I was told when I got clean that
I had to get clean for myself and not for someone else. But, in my experience,
I got clean for my son and my kids as well as my family. They are what continue
to drive me not to use.”
"I got clean for my son and my kids as well as my family. They are what continue to drive me not to use."
Misheala McBride with her son, Liam.
Shae is by far not the
only person affected by drug use. From experiences, she has lost friends and
colleagues because of addiction. “Drug abuse became very prevalent in the area
I lived before I got clean,” Shae says. “It’s still a growing issue in that
area and continues to cost many young people their lives."
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In Allegany County, government officials are working with health professionals and the county health department to combat the rise of drug abuse in the area. Prescribe Change is an organization that primarily deals with educating people about drug use and the dangers it presents to individuals and the community.
Prescribe
Change Allegany County is an organization formed by the Allegany County Health Department that
connects with the community to spread awareness and provide resources for
people who are suffering from opioid use.
This organization provides information through town hall meetings in the
Cumberland and Frostburg area where anyone in the community is invited to
gather information about the epidemic.
Prescribe Change also visits local schools and gives presentations to
students as well as faculty members, bus drivers, and cafeteria workers. In addition, they visit individual groups of
people that request speakers to share information with them, as well as church
congregations. The overdose prevention
task force also meets monthly to discuss current issues and how to conquer
them.
Prescribe Change also
reaches out to the community through media campaigns. On their website, there are statistics with
breakdowns of all of the fatal overdoses in each county in Maryland from 2007 -
October 2016, non-fatal overdoses in Allegany County from 2014 - October 2016,
and how many people have bee trained to respond to overdoses.
"Going to treatment is voluntary. Family members can plead with addicts to get help but ultimately, it is their decision to go or not."
This website also
provides information regarding response programs, where people can find
treatment, and family members can find ways to assist loved ones who are
affected by the opioid epidemic. “Going
to treatment is voluntary,” says Chris Delaney, prevention program director,
“family members can plead with addicts to get help but ultimately, it is their
decision to go or not.”
Prescribe
Change Allegany County also has a Facebook page so that people in the community can help others
simply by liking and sharing the information.
This information includes upcoming meetings and events, phone numbers
addicts can call for help, and other information that can be found on their
website.
At the Allegany County
Health Department, there is a walk-in clinic open from 8:30am-3:00pm where
addicts or family members of addicts can seek help without an appointment. All levels of treatments are available at
this clinic, including inpatient treatment and outpatient treatment for both
adolescents and adults. “There is a
misunderstanding about the availability of treatment in Allegany County, but we
actually have all levels of treatment—which is remarkable for this area,” says
Delaney.
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Posted on the Prescribe Change Allegany County website, this video shows a Maryland Mother's story about losing a child over a drug addiction.
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