Canton Township Tackles 'Alarming' Heroin Problem
Police and emergency crews have responded to 24 opiate overdose cases so far this year — about half the number in all of 2015.
CANTON TOWNSHIP, MI – Opioid abuse is on the uptick in Canton Township, where emergency responders are teaming with local health and drug treatment groups to curb it, authorities said.
Police and fire personnel have responded to 24 overdoses from heroin or other opiate so far this year — more than half the number in all of 2015, Canton Public Safety Director Joshua Meier told WDIV-TV.
Meier called the increase “alarming.”
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Two-third of those who overdosed are between 18-30 years old, he said.
The increase follows trends nationally, where heroin and opiate overdoses more than tripled from 2010 to 2013,when 8,200 people died. Heroin and opiate use is surging in Michigan, as well, and the state reported 18 drug overdose deaths per 100,000 people in 2014, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Meier said law enforcement personnel will continue to enforce drug laws and prosecutte offenders, but will also work closely with Growth Works Inc., a private, nonprofit group that has been providing drug treatment programs for addicts and recovering addicts in Wayne County since 1971.
Canton Township Deputy Police Chief Debra Newsome said heroin and opiate abuse is widespread across socio-economic boundaries.
“Addicts are not just street people or junkies,” she said. “They can be your friends, coworkers or relatives.”
The CDC said populations most at risk for heroin addiction are:
- People who are addicted to prescription opioid painkillers
- People who are addicted to cocaine
- People without insurance or enrolled in Medicaid
- Non-Hispanic whites
- Males
- People who are addicted to marijuana and alcohol
- People living in a large metropolitan area
- 18 to 25 year olds
