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LISBON -- The Columbiana County Drug Task Force isn't just looking for drug dealers to arrest, but focusing more and more on recovery and saving people.
That's according to DTF Director Detective Sergeant Brett Grabman of the Sheriff's Office, who said "we want to reduce overdoses and improve the overall condition of our community."
Grabman described the battle against drugs as a two-front problem.
"I want the public to know that our goal is to basically combat not only the drug supply, but also the demand," he said, adding people might see these efforts as soft on drugs, but that's not the case.
He said to look at the stats -- the DTF is harassing these drug dealers and affecting the supply, noting the DTF's record-high number of cases last year. With the recovery efforts, they're also affecting the demand. The more people they can convince to enter into recovery, the less demand there will be for drugs.
Grabman said that the DTF alone distributed 143 Naloxone kits and offered treatment to 84 people, with 11 people accepting treatment. Naloxone is an overdose reversal drug and helps the DTF's efforts to get people help and get them into treatment. Overdoses are one of the top 10 leading causes of death in this country, he said.
Overdoses in Columbiana County are the reason there's a such a big push for outreach. In 2021, Grabman said there were 38 fatal overdoses in the county. In 2022, the number went down to 26, but in 2023, the number of fatal overdoses increased to 34, but he said it may increase more due to some pending cases. Over the last three years, there were 98 fatal overdoses, averaging 32 per year. He blamed part of the rise on the increase in pressed fentanyl pills and drugs that are a mixture of more than one kind of drug. The largest number of fatal overdoses took place in the East Liverpool zip code.
He noted that if the DTF and their community partners can get a user back into a sober lifestyle, they're not only saving that one person's life, but the life of the next generation. That takes away money from the drug dealers.
He used a fentanyl user as an example. Let's say that user does $40 worth of fentanyl a day. Do the math for a year and that's $14,600 out of the dealer's pocket if they're no longer using.
The DTF partnered with the Columbiana County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board to push recovery efforts, with the DTF using peer counselors who are living a life of recovery and can relate to the people they're trying to get into recovery. With peer support counselors and DTF, a Quick Response Team (QRT) was formed, responding to overdoses to offer support to friends and family, treatment, Naloxone and other needs and also conducting proactive outreach in the community.
"We don't just wait for an overdose to happen," Grabman said.
The QRT and DTF visit the homeless to see what they need, such as food or clothes. They also take part in community efforts, such as the Recovery Ohio Operation Bridge events. He said everybody is just one step away from addiction. Drugs don't care where someone is from, how much money they make or what they do for a living. He said drugs have the power to grab anybody.
"We do have the resources here to help people," Grabman said.
According to the 2023 outreach activity stats for the DTF and QRT, agency information materials were distributed 362 times, there were 23 community/or public education events, 3,740 encounters with community members, 188 referrals to treatment, with 61 connections to treatment and 111 who didn't accept treatment out of the 188, 41 referrals to community resources such as a food bank, clothing, housing, ID, 401 community resource connections, 33 public safety contacts with community outreach partners, 29 community outreach contacts with law enforcement or fire/EMS, 385 Naloxone kits distributed, 46 fentanyl/xylazine test strips distributed, 293 hygiene kits distributed and 937 meals donated.
Grabman pointed out the 61 people placed in treatment through the DTF and QRT, saying "that is probably our greatest success of the year."
The DTF and QRT have access to a number of treatment facilities.
He explained that the fentanyl test strips can be used to test drugs for fentanyl and xylazine, which blocks the effect of Naloxone.
"If our goal is to keep people from dying, this is a necessary tool," he said.
Grabman offered his thanks to Lori Colian of the Columbiana County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board for her efforts in making the Ohio Recovery Operation Bridge events so successful, along with the collaboration with the DTF and the mobile crisis unit or QRT.
New in 2023 was the formation of the DTF Collaboration Board made up of law enforcement and community stakeholders, to give the DTF input and help.
The first Operation Bridge event included some law enforcement activity, but the latest one held over two days in Salem and East Liverpool in the fall was strictly community-based focused on recovery and access to resources.
Grabman said it was "a massive success."
The numbers for the Nov. 16 and 17 event included 3,160 points of contact, 846 meals served, 36 agencies participating, four people immediately connected to treatment, 221 Naloxone kits distributed, 42 fentanyl test strips distributed, 293 hygiene kits distributed, 91 bags of groceries given out, 52 referrals for treatment made and 72 inquiries for adult protective services.
Anyone needing help to get into recovery can contact the DTF at 330-424-0309.