Officials say 16 lives nearly came to an end over a span of just three days because of the worsening opioid epidemic in Genesee County.
Eight of the 16 overdoses were on the same day, and those are just the cases reported to police. Most of the cases...a dozen of them... were in the city of Flint.
Officials with the Genesee County Sheriff’s department said overdose emergencies are dealt with on a daily basis, and even teenagers are brought in from time to time.
Robert Pickell is the Genesee County Sheriff. He said the opioid crisis is getting worse.
“I think it’s important that we declare this epidemic that we’re having as a health issue, and it oughta be instead of a war on drugs it oughta be a war for health making it a health issue, and treating it as a health issue.”
Pickell said it’s often the same story; someone O-D’s, they’re given narcan, and then they go right back out and overdose again.
He said while catching the dealers and distributors is a priority, it should also be to help people struggling with addiction.