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Assertive Representation In State & Federal Court

Opioid problem looms large for Southwest Ohio

On Behalf of | Feb 8, 2021 | White Collar Crimes

Nearly four years ago, the Cincinnati newspaper The Enquirer ran a feature on the opioid epidemic in the Cincinnati area. It was called Seven Days of Heroin: This is What an Epidemic Looks Like, and followed those on all sides of the opiate epidemic for a single week. 

The statistics were harrowing.

What the figures tell us about opioid use and addiction

By the end of the seventh day, some startling figures had emerged, including:

  • 180 overdoses reported to area hospitals (actual overdose figures suspected of being much higher)
  • 18 overdose deaths
  • 15 babies with drug-related health problems born to addicted moms
  • 34 Child Protective Services (CPS) cases opened in the region due to parental addiction
  • 210 Hamilton County Justice Center inmates who admitted to using heroin or other opiate-based drugs

And while those events are indeed in the recent past, there is no good news on the horizon. Southwest Ohio continues to struggle mightily with its opiate drug problem.

Drug use criminalizes people from all walks of life

No one looks at an overdosing addict on the street and says, “That’s what I want to be one day.” Addiction is sneaky and guileful and creeps up on users until they are thoroughly ensnared. Simply the act of purchasing and using illegal drugs causes addicts to become criminals.

But there are other criminal acts that are just as closely linked with addiction. The genesis of many crimes of forgery, embezzlement and fraud is the addict’s frantic need to get another fix that will stave off the crippling withdrawal symptoms.

Protect your rights when prosecuted

If you are facing criminal charges due to your addiction to drugs, you need to launch an assertive defense that will protect your rights and keep you out of prison so you can address the problems that led to your addiction.

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