Hotels are overdose hot spots, Lorain County analysis shows

An analysis of 2020 overdose deaths is showing "hot spots" in Lorain County where more must be done to save lives. There were a record-setting 138 deaths caused by drugs last year. But that number could have been much higher, the Lorain County Overdose Fatality Committee determined when it met Thursday. The panel found that 140 people were revived from overdoses through the use of naloxone. It also found that the lion's share of deadly overdoses — 54 of them — happened in Amherst and Lorain, which were counted together. Hotels have been identified as a place where drug activity leads to problems, according to Elaine Georgas, interim executive director at the Mental Health, Addiction and Recovery Services Board of Lorain County. Specifically, Motel 6 and Days Inn on Route 58 on the Amherst-Lorain line, and the now-closed Days Inn on Route 57 in Elyria, have been problem spots, she said. Georgas said health experts are in talks with hotel owners across the county about placing naloxone on the premises, so it's immediately available in the event of an overdose. Hotel zones are also being targeted with billboards and other messaging about where people can get help. The data may be a little misleading, said Dan Haight, president and CEO of The LCADA Way. Just because a drug overdose happens in one city doesn't mean the user lived there. People from smaller communities like Grafton and Wellington tend to travel to Lorain and Elyria to buy drugs, because that's where they are available, he said. Users won't always return home to ingest drugs, he said. They'll often pull over in parking lots right away, or along the route home. "It kind of skews those communities that say they don't have a problem. But they do," Haight said. Georgas also stressed that opioid overdoses are not an urban problem, and they are actually quite prevalent in rural settings. "Addiction doesn't discriminate. It doesn't have a geographic boundary," she said. The Fatality Committee's analysis also is helping to understand what kind of drugs are out there. Toxicology results showed cocaine and fentanyl are the top problems for Lorain County The problem is that "cocaine isn't just cocaine anymore," Haight said — assume every drug out there, from pot to meth, is laced with fentanyl. There's a movement underway to get fentanyl testing strips out in the community, in the same way naloxone has been distributed, he said. That way, if drug users won't get treatment they'll at least be able to steer clear of the most deadly mixes. Haight and company are also trying to come up with a "spike plan." It would allow them to put out word by social media and text alerts if a bad batch of fentanyl-laced drugs is found. There's also been a significant increase in the amount of methamphetamine floating around the county, he said. That makes Haight nervous, because the damage meth causes in the brain is irreversible. "It's like pouring gas on a Styrofoam cup and lighting it on fire," he said. The opioid problem isn't going away in 2021, either. The year started with 13 overdose deaths in January and 13 in February, according to MHARS Board numbers. Haight said federal stimulus money, intended to help families through the COVID-19 pandemic, is having unintended consequences. "Any time you give money to someone with a substance abuse issue, and they don't know how to use it, you're asking for trouble," he said. Haight said he knows of several cases when a person with addiction left treatment after receiving stimulus funds. Contact Jason Hawk at (440) 329-7122 or news@lcnewspapers.com.