Facts and stats and the resources Daviess County has to fight the opioid crisis were discussed by local officials at Daviess Community Hospital last night.
DCH held an informational meeting on one of the issues identified in their health needs assessment of the county which is the opioid epidemic.
The Washington Times Herald quoted Daviess County Prosecutor Murrie as saying the goal is to make Daviess County the least attractive place for a drug dealer. Last year he campaigned hard not to allow a needle exchange program in the county saying that can lead to increased drug activity in an area. County officials agreed and decided not to start one under current conditions and circumstances.
Superior Court Judge Dean Sobecki said addiction treatment begins at the Daviess County Security Center while people are incarcerated there. The newspaper says Sobecki talked about how his court is where they try to deal with failures by being positive even when an offender is sentenced to years in jail. Sobecki says someone may have never heard anything positive from authority so he tries to tell them to get back on their feet and try again.
The newspaper reports Mayor Joe Wellman pointed to what’s in place locally that makes a difference in fighting the epidemic including having the police and first responders equipped with the overdose antidote Narcan. He also pointed to the drop off at city hall where people can rid themselves of outdated or unwanted medication 24/7.