Pre-naloxone days, an Ottawa County sheriff's deputy or Port Clinton police officer showed up to a heroin overdose scene ahead of other first responders and their options were limited. Five years ago, an officer could keep other people clear from the overdose scene, said Carl Rider, commander of Ottawa County's drug task force. As precious […]

The scene looks peaceful at first glance.  The young couple is cuddled under a blanket on a stormy November Sunday in Painesville.  But a closer look tells a more tragic story.  On the table in front of them is a line of white powder with a straw nearby.  The couple was found dead in their […]

Every day, Sgt. Shawn Pak saw the damage heroin and opioids cause in his job at the Franklin County jail. And the deputy with the county sheriff’s office believed addicts were responsible for their own misery. “It was kind of businesslike, kind of a detached view,” Pak said. That view changed, though, when the brother […]

Residents came out in steady numbers to police departments in Lorain County on Saturday with bags of expired or no longer needed prescription pills for a drug turn-in day. Saturday’s collection accounted for the bulk of more than 4,000 pounds of pills collected from residents over the last six months. Though the event is something […]

Recently, in just three days, Madison Township officials responded to five opiate overdoses. Police report the first — around 1:30 a.m. March 18 — involved a 36-year-old man whom officers revived with a dose of Narcan. The second, which happened about 8 p.m. March 18, involved a 26-year-old man who also required Narcan to come […]