Wood County Prevention Coalition
Uniting For A Drug-Free Community Since 2004
What a meth: Cartels flood Ohio to urge switch from heroin to ice
Jona Ison, Chillicothe Gazette | Chillicothe | The Chillicothe GazettePublished 4:12 a.m. ET July 30, 2018
CHILLICOTHE - Drug cartels have been pumping the state full of methamphetamine as a safer, cheaper alternative to heroin but instead there was a 126 percent increase in meth-related overdose deaths in 2017.
State officials have been tracking the increase of meth across the state and, according to a letter sent to legislators on July 12, preliminary data for 2017 show there were 526 overdose deaths involving meth in 2017 compared to 233 in 2016.
The upward trend of meth continues this year with the state crime lab processing 7,428 meth cases so far this year - a sevenfold increase since 2014 and about 600 cases shy of the combined number of heroin, fentanyl, and carfentanil cases processed this year.
Drug cartels are insisting heroin traffickers also take crystal meth, often called ice for its appearance and purity, made in their "super labs" to create a market among heroin users, according to a state drug trend report released this month.
"No one makes their own meth anymore. The cartels are shipping it in, and it's cheap," said Penny Dehner, Paint Valley ADAMH director.
The drug trend report indicates crystal meth is selling for $35 to $40 for 1/2 a gram compared to $50 to $100 for heroin and/or fentanyl in the Cincinnati region, which includes Ross and Pike counties.
An unnamed law enforcement official in the Cincinnati region suggested in the state's report that officials are the reason for the switch.
"I think we're the main reason (cartels are) pushing meth so hard ... you see they got heroin coalitions and task forces and stuff all over the country. Everybody is paying attention to the opiate crisis, and those cartels aren't stupid, they have a nice business model. They say, 'Well, while they're paying attention to that, we'll work on this,'" the official said.
Poor mental health days may cost the economy billions of dollars
Science Daily June 30, 2018
In an analysis of economic and demographic data from 2008 to 2014, the researchers found that a single extra poor mental health day in a month was associated with a 1.84 percent drop in the per capita real income growth rate, resulting in $53 billion less total income each year, said Stephan Goetz, professor of agricultural and regional economics, Penn State, and director of the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development.
"This starts to give us an idea of what the gain could be, if we did spend more money to help people with poor mental health," said Goetz, who worked with Meri Davlasheridze, assistant professor and economist, Texas A&M University at Galveston and Yicheol Han, postdoctoral scholar in agricultural economics, sociology and education, Penn State.
Poor mental health days refer to days when people describe their mental health as not good and could include conditions such as depression, anxiety, stress and problems with emotions, according to the researchers, who report their findings in a current issue of the Review of Regional Studies. The measure does not include diagnosed mental illnesses.
To give some sense of the size of the problem, the researchers added that the global economic cost of mental illness is expected to be more than $16 trillion over the next 20 years, which is more than the cost of any other non-communicable disease.
The effect is stronger in rural counties, which tend to be poorer than urban counties. A poor mental health day in rural counties was associated with a reduction of 2.3 percent in income growth, compared with only a .87 percent reduction in urban counties.
"That's an interesting finding in itself, too, because poorer counties already have so many factors going against them," said Goetz. "If poor mental health days have a bigger impact in these poorer counties, it suggests that they would have an even harder time keeping up with the wealthy counties."
Urban counties might have more resources for people struggling with poor mental health and conditions, according to Goetz.
E-cigarette maker Juul targeted teens with false claims of safety, lawsuit says
When a San Diego-based mother posted an emergency alert on Nextdoor, a community discussion app, she hoped a Good Samaritan could help, according to court filings. Her son was hysterical after losing a flash drive with his homework near the local McDonald’s, she wrote, uploading a photo along with the message. A neighbor quickly replied, explaining that the chewing-gum-sized object in the picture was not a flash drive: It was a Juul vaping device.
“That’s just an indication of how quickly Juuls became prevalent,” recounted Esfand Nafisi, a lawyer who is handling two of three lawsuits initiated against Juul Labs last month. “You blinked your eye, and suddenly they were all over the place.”
This has become a new kind of reality for those with children who Juul, the verb used by fans of Juul Labs’ trendy USB-flash-drive-sized e-cigarette. The San Francisco-based company, which launched in June 2015, grew sevenfold this year, according to a study published by Tobacco Control.
Juul Labs has claimed its product is for adult smokers only, but several lawsuits contradict that mission. The filings allege the start-up deceptively marketed the Juul as safe and targeted youth from the get-go. Juul Labs spokeswoman Victoria Davis told The Post in an email that company officials “do not believe the cases have merit and will be defending them vigorously.” But researchers say that Juul’s sly age-verification technique and social media marketing campaigns are most revealing of the company’s true intent.
One of Nafisi’s cases against Juul is a nationwide class action. The 10 named plaintiffs, who range from 14 years old to adult users living in several states, allege that Juul caused nicotine addiction in consumers. According to court documents, the Juul device is “more potent than a cigarette,” allowing high levels of nicotine to enter the bloodstream at a faster speed than cigarettes.
“How much nicotine is the Juul actually delivering into the bloodstream of an average person?” Nafisi asked. “If it’s far more than a cigarette, we believe that’s information that ought to have been disclosed but was not.”
Job Opportunity at the Wood County Educational Service Center: Prevention Education Specialist (Part-Time)
Description: Works with students, teachers, administrators, and parents on ATOD prevention and intervention. Serves as a resource to implement ATOD prevention strategies within the Wood County schools.
Qualifications: B.A. and/or experience preferred in related ATOD Prevention area; Prevention certificate or agree to work toward certification; and BCII/FBI (less than 365 days old)
Kyle Clark, Wood County Educational Service Center
1867 N. Research Drive, Bowling Green, OH 43402
419-354-9010 or kclark@wcesc.org
About Us
Our Vision: Helping youth be drug-free, productive and responsible citizens.
Our Mission: We are a coalition of compassionate community members working together to coordinate high quality programs for the prevention of youth substance abuse in Wood County.
Email: mkarna@wcesc.org
Website: wcprevention.org
Location: 1867 Research Drive, Bowling Green, OH, United States
Phone: (419)-354-9010
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WCPCoalition
Twitter: @woodpccoalition