Community Corner
Opioid Overdose Deaths Skyrocket In Macomb County
The number of opioid and heroin overdose deaths has risen sharply in Macomb County since 2014.
MACOMB COUNTY, MI — An epidemic of opioid and heroin overdose deaths is sweeping across Macomb County. From 2014-16, the number of overdose deaths surged 248 percent, from 50 to 202, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
“It’s a national epidemic,” Bill Ridella, director of the Macomb County Health Department, said of opioids/heroin crisis. “We need to treat this as a chronic brain disease.”
The steep rise in the total number drug overdose deaths in Macomb County the last couple years surprised Sheriff Anthony Wickersham. “That increased number is really just amazing and baffling that it would jump that much in compared to our neighboring counties,” he said.
For more, go to the Macomb Daily.
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Photo by Drew Angerer / Staff / Getty Images News / Getty Images
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