5 years after emergency declared, fatal ODs up to prior peak in Pa.
For years, Shelia Kemmer helped coach her son’s youth sports teams. She took him turkey hunting until he was old enough to hunt alone.
“He was a wonderful ballplayer. He could excel at any position,” she says.
Over time she also realized he struggled against “demons” she attributed to a series of concussions from sports and an ATV crash, and the fact his father didn’t live them. She believes they made him especially prone to drug use.
During his mid-20s, Colin Culberson told her of trying unsuccessfully to revive a fellow drug user who overdosed. The death shook him badly and his mother believed his promise to never use heroin again.
Eventually, Kemmer sat or slept nearby as her son, who lacked health insurance, detoxed at their home in Clarion County. As he sweated, shook or fell unconscious, Kemmer would put her hand on his chest, “giving him strength, giving him my energy to fight whatever he was going through.”
Now, Kemmer’s voice cracks describing the weekend in April when she was out of town for work and learned her son hadn’t shown up at his job. Her sister climbed through a window and found him dead of a fentanyl overdose, his beloved 12-year-old Labrador retriever at his side. Culberson was 26.
“You just sort of want to die too,” says Kemmer, 56.
Such anguish is rampant across Pennsylvania, where 5,438 people died of drug overdoses in 2021, an average of 15 per day. Provisional data shows a similar pace in 2022.
Fentanyl scourge
It’s even more disheartening because the recent death toll is similar to Pennsylvania’s previous peak in 2017.
The 2017 toll — one of the nation’s worst — prompted Gov. Tom Wolf to declare a public health emergency accompanied by expanded efforts to prevent addiction, save people who overdose and make treatment available to anyone in need.
Many of those programs helped, with fatal overdoses falling by about 1,000 by 2019.
But the crisis has flared up anew in Pennsylvania and most of the United States, with the latest rash of overdose deaths considered the worst in U.S. history. It’s fueled by assorted factors, some of them new, suggesting the epidemic possesses a virus-like ability to adapt and evade our defenses.
The most deadly evolution involves fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that can be made cheaply by criminals and which is 50 times stronger than heroin.
Fentanyl was commonplace five years ago, usually mixed in with heroin.
But now it’s far more prevalent, essentially replacing heroin in Pennsylvania.
Worse, fentanyl is commonly turned into counterfeit versions of familiar prescription pills such as Percocet and Vicodin. Lab tests show four in ten of the counterfeit pills contain a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl, according to federal officials.
They often end up in the hands of young people seeking a recreational high who may not realize the overdose potential. Fentanyl is also turned into counterfeit versions of non-opioid pills such as Xanax or Adderall which are commonly abused by young people.
And it’s being added to stimulant drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine and even marijuana. People who believe they are using prescription opioids or non-opioids are less likely to have access to the opioid overdose reversal drug, naloxone.
“Fentanyl is in all the drugs now and I don’t think people understand that,” says Jessica Miller, the education and advocacy coordinator for the Rase Project, which helps people recover from addiction.
Social meeting dealing
It gets worse: Drug dealers now populate social media platforms. Once a connection is made, buyer and seller shift to encrypted messaging to complete the transaction.
There are additional contributors to the new surge:
Most experts believe MAT is the best option for many people, especially in the early months of recovery and sometimes for much longer. Yet some people, even in the criminal justice or drug treatment fields, still view MAT as replacing one drug with another.
Early this year, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Pennsylvania, alleging some county drug courts discriminate against people with addiction by requiring them to stop MAT, and use an abstinence approach, to complete courtordered programs. The state court system is fighting the allegation, in part by saying the overall court system isn’t responsible for
practices within individual counties.
At least some of the counties named by the Justice Department apparently have changed their policies regarding MAT.
Still, a Pennsylvania Department of Health spokeswoman said the department doesn’t know if some counties are still restricting access to MAT. Meanwhile, experts say forcing someone to use abstinence rather than MAT can be deadly. It’s because people who try to quit opioids through willpower alone have a high rate of relapse. Meanwhile, their tolerance for opioids falls during abstinence, putting them at risk of dying from their first dose after relapse.
Pam Gay, the York County coroner and a former registered nurse, once lacked enthusiasm for MAT, regarding it as a “crutch.” She has reversed. “For many people, that is what gives them their life back and gets them back to contributing to society and gives them a sense of worth and value,” she says.
But aside from all that, Pennsylvania’s overdose resurgence has hammered home another terrifying reality: So many of those who died were trying desperately to recover.
Micheal Conner became addicted to opioids during
his teens, with his first exposure possibly coming from prescribed Percocet related to wisdom teeth removal.
But he also had a powerful force on his side: his mother, a registered nurse now working in drug and alcohol treatment.
Mary Beth Conner shepherded her son through two inpatient treatment stays and attempts to use methadone and suboxone to stay clean. The family spent thousands on inpatient costs not covered by insurance.
Micheal eventually was prescribed monthly injections of Vivitrol, which block the effect of opioids, making it futile for someone feeling tempted to try to get high. For about a year, it seemed to be working well.
Mother and son made hour-long drives from their home in Clarion County to neighboring Armstrong County, the nearest source of Vivitrol.
But Mary Beth Conner, 55, had additional responsibilities, including visiting her widowed mother and babysitting for a daughter 30 miles away.
Babysitting caused her to postpone a trip for Vivitrol.
“I thought I’ll take him to get it as soon as I can and we’ll be OK,” she says. “And it wasn’t.”
PROVIDENCE ANIMAL CENTER, BUTTERSCOTCH
9-year-old female mixed breed: Butterscotch is a gorgeous fawn-coated senior gal, who is patiently waiting on her forever family from the comfort of a foster home. She loved meeting some dogs at Providence Animal Center, so she could live with the right doggy sibling in her forever home. She is described by her friends at PAC as sweet, relaxed and playful. That’s right, don’t be fooled by her age because she has a pep in her step. She loves to walk outside, and is great on the leash. She loves to get cozy, and could be a great couch potato TV marathon companion. Interested in meeting her? Head to her page, and fill out the adoption profile to get started at ProvidenceAC.org/Pets/Butterscotch. Butterscotch is the packaged deal: up to date on vaccines, spayed and microchipped. Can’t adopt, but interested in helping a pet like her? Join the foster team at Providence Animal Center! Apply online: ProvidenceAC.org/Foster.
PROVIDENCE ANIMAL CENTER, BLUE
2-year-old male mixed breed: Blue is a handsome young adult dog who recently joined the adoptable dog crew at Providence from an overcrowded shelter in Georgia. That’s right, he is a true southern gentleman. Blue would love to join an active family who love walks outdoors, playtime with toys and learning new things every day. He is described by his friends at PAC as “loving, playful and happy.” If your family is interested in meeting this intelligent boy, head in to Providence Animal Center to meet him. No appointment necessary. Blue is the packaged deal: up to date on vaccines, neutered, and microchipped. Home
For The Howlidays: Dogs homeless for three months or more have sponsored adoption fees now through Dec. 31, and their adopters will receive a free 2023 Providence Animal Center calendar, along with a free mini photo session by Mergliano Photography.
PROVIDENCE ANIMAL CENTER, PUMKIN PIE
4-year-old male domestic shorthair: Pumpkin Pie is a shy guy who is patiently waiting for someone equally patient to give him a loving home to blossom in. He prefers taking new introductions slowly, so he will benefit from a home with kids who are high school aged and up. Pumpkin Pie loves crunchy treats, and catnip. Once he begins to trust you, he loves to chat and receive gentle head pets. Interested adopters should head to Providence Animal Center to meet him, no appointment necessary. Pumpkin Pie is the packaged deal: neutered, microchipped, litterbox trained, and up to date on his vaccinations. Can’t adopt, but interested in supporting pets like Pumpkin Pie? Make a donation from their wish list, which you can view at ProvidenceAC.org/Wishlist.