St. Mary’s County has the second highest number of heroin overdose deaths in the state. That shocking statistic was revealed Wednesday evening by Sheriff Tim Cameron at a community meeting at the Northern Senior Center in Charlotte Hall.
Cameron has been holding community meetings around the county over the past several years. At the other meetings he has told the attendees that prescription drug misuse has been the number one drug problem in the county. Now Cameron says that the costs of the prescription drugs, particularly OxyContin
(oxycodone hydrochloride), are causing the switch to the now much cheaper heroin. OxyContin is a synthetic form of heroin, Cameron said.
Cecil County, another relatively small county in far northeastern Maryland, is number one. Cameron isn’t sure why the two small counties are at the top of the list. He hypothesizes that maybe it’s because there are methadone treatment centers available in the more urban area, particularly Baltimore. Cameron does know, however, that the heroin coming into St. Mary’s County is coming from Baltimore.
Another possibility for the high heroin overdose rate may be that St. Mary’s is more aggressive in their reporting of such instances, he said. Every case in St. Mary’s County is reported and investigated, he assured the several dozen attendees at the meeting at the senior center.
The sheriff said that there have been multiple heroin overdose deaths from each of the last three graduating classes from one high school. He said he was going to meet with School Superintendent Dr. Michael Martirano to discuss what can be done to address the issue.
Among the other items discussed at the meeting, Sheriff Cameron said:
· He is actively investigating the legality of the casino that has sprung up in the county. He said, “I expect a resolution soon.”
· <!–[endif]
<!–
–>
