Livingston County has ranked consistently above the national average for opioid deaths in the last decade in statistics from the Centers of Disease Control.
Now, Livingston County finds itself listed as one of the 24 counties in Michigan at high risk in the national opioid epidemic. In a July 10, 2019, story reported by Stateside Staff of Michigan Public Radio on a University of Michigan study published June 28, 2019, in the Journal of the American Medical Association, a county is designated as “high risk” if it has “both high opioid overdose mortality rates, and low capacity to treat opioid addiction with medications like methadone and buprenorphine.” Roughly 21 to 29 percent of patients prescribed opioids for chronic pain misuse them. Between 8 and 12 percent develop an opioid use disorder. An estimated 4 to 6 percent who misuse prescription opioids transition to heroin. About 80 percent of people who use heroin first misused prescription opioids. If you addicted to any of these and want to leave it behind, here is what to expect from your upcomming treatment.
The community has been grappling with how to combat the growing crisis.
In addition to community forums and education efforts on opioids, county officials also joined a nationwide lawsuit targeting pharmaceutical companies that manufacture and/or distribute controlled substances, which could result in damages awarded related to opioid treatment, deaths, and the cost of law enforcement, as reported by WHMI 93.5FM.
A fact sheet on opioids in Livingston County, prepared by the Livingston County Human Services Collaborative Board, is available by clicking here.
More resources on the opioid epidemic in Livingston County are available here:
Livingston County Community Alliance
Livingston County Catholic Charities
Key Development Center
Celebrate Recovery
