CANTON, Ohio — For years, drug addiction has been a major issue in Ohio. Now over the past eight months, new issues surrounding the topic have been brought to life.

What You Need To Know

  • The last eight months have proved to be challenging for those who struggle with drug addiction

  • Officials in the Canton area have seen a significant increase in overdoses over the past few months

  • Many essential resources for drug addicts closed down during the statewide shutdown

Cindy Koumoutzis is the executive director for Ohio Can — an organization focused on helping and educating those impacted by substance abuse.

These days, her job is even more challenging.

“There is so much talk about COVID right now, and people fail to realize how much it has impacted those with a substance abuse disorder," she said.

Koumoutzis went on to explain, “Isolation is a key risk factor. When they isolate, they get into their heads more than they should. They have more idle time, they have more time to think. When they start thinking, they say 'stinking thinking.'"

Juile Priebe is another person on the front lines of the drug crisis in northeast Ohio. She is a community nurse who visits with people who have overdosed and provides them with the resources they need to get help.

Priebe tells us that since the pandemic began, the number of overdose deaths in the Canton area have increased significantly.

“We know that the overdose deaths went up, for sure. In May, I think we had maybe six. It was trending that way through January to May. In June, we were up around 20 deaths. In July, we had 25, I think, so we saw big spikes,” explained Priebe.

As the country shut down months ago, so did many essential resources for addicts, including doctor visits and recovery meetings.

“You know, if someone is thinking about using, to be with someone who has been there and done that before, that peer support is very important, and as much as I believe the Zoom meetings and online meetings could be beneficial, what most people need is somebody to just be there with them. There is something about a hug,” Koumoutzis said.

Not only did the meetings have to move to an online format, but medical treatments for those in recovery were changed during the pandemic as well.

“There is Vivitrol, which is an injection people get. It is a 30-day injection that helps with recovery, and when COVID hit and people weren’t allowed to go into the doctors' offices for their monthly injection, they gave them pills to take every day," said Koumoutzis. "And when you have someone who doesn’t have to worry about what I’m going to do each day, and now I have to take a pill everyday, and someone is in early recovery and they have the choice, chances are their choice will be not to take that pill that day."

These experts say one of the easiest ways to help prevent overdose deaths is to carry Narcan, which is available without a prescription at most pharmacies.