Opioid town hall called in Long Neck

With the epidemic of opioids growing in Delaware and around the nation, State Representative Ruth Briggs King called for a town hall meeting at Long Neck Elementary School Wednesday evening.

D.E.A agent Gary Tuggle read off some striking statistics that paint a picture of the reality the nation as a whole faces.

"The Vietnam War lasted from 1955 to 1975, we lost 58,000 Americans in that war.  Last year, 53,000 Americans died in the U.S. Of overdoses."

In Delaware, the number of overdoses rose from 228 in 2015 to 308 last year, with 120 related to Fentanyl.

Briggs King's mission for the meeting was get more people informed on the matter and try to find answers on how to address the problem.

"Education begins with awareness, and then from education we can prevent.  But it's going to take a lot of work over a period of time to really stem the tide of this epidemic."

Briggs King made it known legislation could not solve the problem on its own, and that is why other groups would play a vital role in the meeting.  Groups such as the State Police, County Emergency Medical Services, and the Division of Public Health.

Sue Harris, Treatment Services Director at Thesholds Incorporated, says the epidemic can be slowed, but only if communication improves among the agencies and groups that are fighting it.

Harris says is the past six years she has seen a dramatic shift, seeing an increase of 78 percent of patients seeking treatment for heroin addiction.  To her, the epidemic is most troubling because of the potency of the drug.

"This is the lethal one.  So if you're an alcoholic, it's going to be a slow death.  It's going to take years, even things like tobacco, years before you develop lung cancer.  And this takes months."

For more information you can log on to helpishereDE.com, or call 800.345.6785 for Delaware Health and Social Services.