Fatal drug overdose deaths are trending downward in the Mahoning Valley in 2024.

For the first seven months of the year, Trumbull County has 30 confirmed opioid overdose deaths.

County health officials are tracking a trend of fewer deaths so far this year and fewer overdoses overall.

"Obviously there are things that are working," Lauren Thorp said, associate director of the Trumbull County Mental Health and Recovery Board.

Mahoning County is seeing a similar trend, with 54 deaths. It had a total of 156 in 2023, with a record high hit in 2021 at 161.

"We have finally started to turn the tide," Brenda Heidinger said, associate director of Mahoning County Mental and Recovery Board. "We finally have education and stigma reduction out there."

Heidinger and Thorp believe prevention education programs, spreading awareness and Project DAWN, which provides opioid reversal naloxone kits to the public, are all helping to slow down the death rates.

"More people are being revived and as Narcan has become more available in our community, we're seeing those overdose numbers go down," Thorp said.

Thorp says awareness is spreading and touching families who may have experienced loss or struggles linked to the deadly drug epidemic.

"Most people know somebody who has died from a fentanyl overdose, so people are more aware that this drug is fatal," she said.

Columbiana County's numbers remain steady with 17 deaths this year, with several more pending, compared to a total of 34 opioid overdose deaths in 2023.

While the epidemic could be taking a turn, it has seen lulls and sudden spikes of overdose rates in the recent years.

TAG Drug Task Force Commander Mike Yannucci tells 21 News we are seeing a shift locally, but warns the drug epidemic is not over yet.

Yannucci says he and other members of law enforcement are finding meth use is rising in Trumbull County, likely because it's the cheapest drug dealers are selling.

He believes it's being funneled through the border from the cartels. It's been found in the county in pill form or as meth "ice".

He also warns pressed pills could still contain fentanyl.

It's also possible cartels are moving away from trafficking highly potent fentanyl. The Wall Street Journal reported in October of 2023 that the leading exporting cartel in Mexico was starting to ban the production of the illegal opioid after coming under pressure from the U.S. Department of Justice.

OVERDOSES DOWN

In Trumbull County, the overall number of opioid overdoses is also lower at the seven month mark of 2024 compared to the past two years.

Data compiled by the Trumbull Mental Health and Recovery Board and the Trumbull County Combined Health District shows a total of 242 drug overdoses have been recorded in the county as of August 2024. The data combines fatal and non-fatal overdoses that involved an emergency room or hospital visit into one figure. Those who refused medical attention or did not report them to authorities are not included in the overall overdose numbers.

In 2023, a total of 614 opioid overdoses were recorded, in 2022 a total of 633 overdoses were reported.
The Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board is reporting 230 opioid overdose visits to an ER this year. In 2023, the total number came to 616.

Fentanyl remains the top drug in overdose toxicology results, with 71-percent of deaths linked to the highly deadly drug in Trumbull County in 2024 as of July.

This year, fentanyl is linked back to 78-percent of overdose deaths in Mahoning County, which is on par with levels found in 2022 and 2023.

Nearby Summit County is reporting a 35-percent drop in fatal overdose deaths this year.

The drop in overdose deaths is trending on a national scale for the first time since 2018. The CDC's National Center for Health Statistics reported in May an estimated 107,543 overdose deaths in U.S. in 2023, which was down 3-percent from 2022.

The Ohio Department of Health's 2022 Ohio Unintentional Drug Overdose Report found 4,915 Ohioans died in 2022 from unintentional drug overdoses, which was down 5-percent from 2021.

State health officials called it an encouraging sign. Final numbers for 2023 won't be official until later in 2024, but the preliminary numbers suggest Ohio will see a second straight year of dropping opioid overdose deaths.