The Kentucky Public Safety Cabinet has released information concerning overdose deaths in Kentucky for 2017, with Harlan County showing 10 deaths due to overdose that year.

According to the Public Safety Cabinet report, “substance abuse, particularly the diversion and abuse of prescription drugs along with heroin and illicit fentanyl, remains one of the most critical public health and safety issues facing Kentucky. Over the past decade, the number of Kentuckians who die from drug overdoses has steadily climbed to more than 1,500 this year, exacting a devastating toll on families, communities, social services and economic growth.”

Harlan County Sheriff Leslie Smith said the 10 Harlan County overdose deaths in 2017 are in line with overdose death rates for the county in previous years. He also explained while opioids are a large problem, the bigger issue by far in Harlan County is another sort of substance.

“Certainly, the opioid issue is ongoing. We still deal with a tremendous amount of that,” Smith said. “But, the biggest issue we’ve got going right now is crystal methamphetamine.”

Smith said when he took office, most methamphetamine found in Harlan County was being made locally

“They were making meth in two-liter pop bottles, making their own generators, using lithium batteries,” Smith explained. “But for the last three years, we don’t see many people making meth anymore. We’re getting what’s referred to as crystal meth or ice, and a lot of it is coming out of Mexico. When people hear about border problems, that’s one of them. It’s not just here, it’s all over our nation.”

Smith pointed out crystal meth is comparatively cheap to purchase.

“It’s coming into the United States literally by the pound,” Smith said. “It’s bad stuff. Overall, it’s one of the meaner substances I’ve seen, when it comes to the different substances that people abuse.”

Smith added crystal meth is the number one drug issue in Harlan County.

“Crystal meth is by and far the biggest problem we’ve got,” Smith said.

While there have been some instances involving heroin in Harlan County, those instances have been relatively few compared to crystal meth, according to Smith.

The Public Safety Cabinet report shows a large opioid problem on a state-wide level, stating morphine was detected in 627 fatal overdose cases across the state in 2017, and Monoacetylmorphine (heroin) in 327. The report also shows a 57 percent increase in fatal overdose cases in which methamphetamine was detected.

The opioids oxycodone and hydrocodone have seen a decline, with oxycodone showing up in 14 percent (a 6 percent decline) of the cases and hydrocodone in 14 percent (a 2 percent decline).

More information can be found on the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet website at https://justice.ky.gov.