CINCINNATI — A dramatic rise in deadly drug overdoses has area leaders trying something different to combat the problem. They’re taking drug needles and test strips straight to drug addicts. 

What You Need To Know

  • Recent data from Hamilton County shows 16 people died in six days from deadly drug overdoses 
  • The dramatic increase in overdoses is what county leaders say has them going straight to the streets with things like clean drug needles and fentanyl test strips 
  • County leaders say they're not encouraging drug use, but trying to give users a safer way and prevent overdoses 

Bobby Turner runs a team in Cincinnati, going up against the city’s drug problem by giving out things like clean drug needles to addicts.

“It’s not enabling, it’s just providing a safe way for people to do what they’re gonna do anyway,” said Turner. 

He knows because he was one of them. He was a heroin addict 

“I was sick and didn’t even know it, like, I knew something was wrong with me but I didn’t know how bad I looked…it was awful,” said Turner.

He says his addiction left him homeless, infected, going in and out of jail and one day, he overdosed. 

“There was one point, I was in a coma, I coded six times, my mom signed the DNR (do not resuscitate), and brought my family in to say goodbye, then I stabilized the next day," said Turner. 

He survived and went into treatment but some addicts never make it to that point. 

In fact, Hamilton County commissioners recently issued an overdose alert. 

“In a six-day period, we had 16 people die from drug overdoses in Hamilton County,” said Greg Kesterman, Hamilton County Health Commissioner. 

That’s why Kesterman said they’ve added something else to the arsenal to help go up against the problem. They’re giving out fentanyl test strips. 

The strips test whether a drug is laced with fentanyl, an even more dangerous drug.

“In no way are we encouraging people to use drugs, however, the truth is if a couple college kids purchased some Adderall or some other pressed pills, and plan to use it tonight, they might alter their decision to use that drug if they knew fentanyl was present,” said Kesterman. 

He says in less than one year they got 11,000 requests for the fentanyl strips, and many of them are being given out through the public health’s safe services program. It’s the same program Bobby Turner now supervises.  

“I just can’t believe it cause nobody thought I’d even be alive right now,” said Turner. 

He’s been off drugs for the last eight years and is using what he went through to go to different areas with clean needles and fentanyl strips to try to get through to someone else. 

“It changes their demeanor when they know that you understand because you’ve been through what they’ve been through,” said Turner. 

For more information on the program, click here.