Drug problem 'rampant' in Hancock County

Hancock County's drug problem is metastasizing. Overdoses are higher than they have ever been. Drug-related crime is up. Four deaths, suspected to be drug overdoses, occurred in a seven-day span earlier this month, visibly upsetting Hancock County Commissioner Michael Pepple. "The community needs to be aware of it," Pepple said Tuesday. "It's rampant." "It's a human tragedy," he said. That's not all that upsets him. "Nobody wants to talk about it," Pepple said. Drug use and addiction exact a toll far beyond overdoses, as bad as those are. Drugs devastate families, traumatize loved ones, derail careers and cause health problems for the user. Drugs and addiction alter a user's brain, causing them to betray their values and commit crimes. Addicted parents sometimes traffic their children as sex commodities to get cash for drugs. "The vast majority of our (criminal) cases are drug-related one way or another," said Hancock County Prosecutor Phillip Riegle. That includes thefts, homicides, domestic violence and other crimes. Those crimes have risen in recent years along with the increase in drug overdoses. Hancock County's jail has 98 beds. Pepple worries that before long a much larger jail will be needed. "My biggest worry is, in 20 years, are we going to need a 500-bed jail?" he said. Overdoses surge Thankfully, some deaths by overdose have been prevented by Hancock Public Health's distribution of Narcan kits, which temporarily block an overdose's effect. But overdoses have been rising in Hancock County. Nearly all overdoses in recent years involve fentanyl, a synthetic opiate. According to Hancock Public Health, the number of known overdose reversals with Narcan keeps rising each year: • Nine overdose reversals in 2018. • 47 overdose reversals in 2019. • 179 overdose reversals in 2020. • 613 overdose reversals in 2021. • 811 overdose reversals through October this year. Regarding overdoses resulting in death: Through mid-December, 17 overdose deaths have been confirmed and nine additional deaths are suspected of being the result of an overdose, said Gary Bright, injury prevention program supervisor for Hancock Public Health. 2017 so far is the record year for overdose deaths in Hancock County, 30. Back then there was much less distribution of Narcan to prevent deaths. Overdose deaths and the number of Narcan kits distributed to prevent them in recent years tells an alarming story: • 2018 — 21 overdose deaths; 339 Narcan kits distributed. • 2019 — 15 overdose deaths; 679 Narcan kits distributed. • 2020 — 22 overdose deaths; 966 Narcan kits distributed. • 2021 — 20 overdose deaths; 2,298 Narcan kits distributed. • 2022 — 17 confirmed overdose deaths, nine suspected through mid-December; 3,238 Narcan kits distributed through October. Still more alarming: In the mind of an active addict, news of someone else's overdose is sometimes seized as an opportunity to live on the edge. "Sometimes people will, if they hear someone has overdosed, they will try to figure out who had sold those drugs because that's considered fire and they want that," Riegle said. "So they want that experience because they don't think that (overdose) will happen to them or they don't care. But that — to them — is going to be a really good high." Drug-crime link Crime also has climbed in Hancock County. The total number of charges this year through mid-December is 815, already 62% higher than in all of 2015, Riegle said. Spikes have occurred in charges for drugs, homicide, theft, domestic violence and weapons crimes. Even when a charge is not a drug crime by name, the offender usually is involved with drugs, Riegle said. "You look at the theft cases. The vast majority of those are related to drugs," Riegle said. "Maybe they stole a credit card from somebody because they're trying to get some money so they can get a score. They took some money out of somebody's checking account … Whatever it is, the vast majority of them are related to drugs." That also is true for weapons charges, such as illegally possessing a gun because of a prior conviction or improper handling of a gun, he said. "Most of them, there's drugs involved, whether it's they have a gun and happen to have some (drugs) — it may be a small amount, maybe a big amount — but a lot of times there's drugs involved with those weapons cases, too," Riegle said. Uppers, downers Since 2018, methamphetamine has been the most commonly used illegal drug, he said. Some problems with "meth": An upper, it can make the user violent and paranoid, Riegle said. Paranoia can become a long-term problem, especially with continued use, he said. Meth also causes a variety of health problems. Like fentanyl, meth is highly addictive. Fentanyl, the source of nearly all of the overdoses, is a downer and more potent than heroin. While heroin is derived from opium, fentanyl is synthetic, made from mixing chemicals together, Riegle said. "It's more potent (than heroin), so you can spread it out further, but it's also a lot more dangerous," Riegle said. "What you see a fair amount of is where you may mix these things — uppers and downers — so they'll have a mixture of fentanyl and meth that they'll take and use together," Riegle said. "So you have the upper and the downer, and it's telling the body to slow down and speed up at the same time." Drug related criminal charges — including possession, trafficking, abusing harmful intoxicants and corrupting another with drugs — totaled 438 in Hancock County for the first 11½ months of 2022. That was 59% more than all of 2015, Riegle said. But many other crimes involve someone who is involved with drugs even when the charge does not specify a drug violation, Riegle said. A slate of charges, comparing numbers for the first 11½ months of 2022 with the entire 2015 year, shows increases: • Homicide-related charges (including aggravated murder, murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter and attempted murder): nine charges so far this year; in 2015 there were none. • Assault (including felonious assault, assault of a police officer) may be the exception. The number is less so far this year: Eleven charges so far this year; 14 in 2015. • Theft-related crimes (breaking and entering, theft, receiving stolen property): 86 charges so far in 2022; 64 in 2015, Riegle reported. • Lack of respect for authority (failure to appear in court, failure to comply with a police officer, tampering with evidence): 77 charges so far this year; 11 in 2015. • Domestic incidents (domestic violence, violating a civil protection order, disrupting public services): 39 charges so far this year; 19 in 2015. • Weapons charges (having a weapon illegally because of a prior conviction, improper handling of a firearm): 27 charges so far this year; nine in 2015, Riegle reported.