Officials say substance use crisis defies simple solutions

FINDLAY — Substance use continues to be a persistent challenge for law enforcement and treatment providers. A 2024 U.S. National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that 1 in 6 people age 12 or older met the criteria for a substance use disorder. Illicit drug use of any kind increased from 62 million people in 2021 to over 73 million people in 2024, an 18% jump in just three years. Locally, the reasons behind substance use are rarely simple. Zach Thomas, director of wellness and education at the Hancock County Board of Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services, said drug use continues to be a problem in Hancock County and the reasons for usage are not always clear. "Every person's reason for using substances is unique," Thomas said. Some individuals progress from over-the-counter painkillers to illegal drugs, said Lt. Andrew Welch of the Findlay Police Department. Others move from alcohol or marijuana to harder substances like heroin or methamphetamine. The U.S Drug Enforcement Administration classifies controlled substances into five categories based on their potential for abuse. Schedule I drugs, such as heroin, MDMA and psilocybin, carry the highest risk. Schedule II substances, including methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl, codeine and prescription stimulants like Adderall and Ritalin, also pose a high risk for dependence. Lower schedules include substances like ketamine (Schedule III), benzodiazepines like Xanax and Valium (Schedule IV) and certain cough medicines (Schedule V). Both Welch and Wyandot County Sheriff Todd Frey say methamphetamine remains the most common drug encountered in the region. "We see fentanyl," Frey said. "We get some prescription drugs, but I would say meth is at the top of our list." Welch serves on the Hancock County METRICH Enforcement Unit, a multi-agency and multi-county task-force focused on drug investigations. Hancock METRICH typically conducts one to two drug-related search warrants per month, while Wyandot County's Major Crimes Unit, overseen by Frey, executes six to twelve. Both units consist of law enforcement officers from multiple agencies. But a search warrant is often just one step in a longer investigation, Welch said. "A couple years ago, all you would hear about was opiates and overdoses," he said. "Meth overdoses tend to be mind altering and lasting hours or even days, in some cases." He said he believes opiates stopped being "the drug of choice" locally a few years ago, when overdose deaths began to decline. Still, fentanyl remains a constant threat. Its lethality at extremely low doses makes it uniquely dangerous, a reality underscored by an incident last summer in Fostoria when a police officer was believed to have overdosed after suspected fentanyl became airborne during a traffic stop. Fellow officers administered multiple doses of Narcan (naloxone) before EMS arrived. Similar reports of accidental first responder overdose have been made across the country. Wyandot County deputies are equipped with Narcan daily, Findlay officers are not. "Due to our proximity to medical assistance, our officers do not normally carry Narcan," Welch said. "Fire and EMS generally arrive around the same time we do and as we are ensuring scene safety, they will begin administering Narcan." In recent years, communities have placed Narcan in high-traffic areas, for free. The city of Findlay put purple naloxone banners with Narcan on poles located around the community. Narcan is harmless to those not overdosing, but can be lifesaving to those who are. The Ohio Department of Health coordinates Project DAWN, or Deaths Avoided With Naloxone. An ODH webpage states that as of last November, there are over 200 Project DAWN programs in the state. A map of emergency naloxone locations can be found at naloxone.ohio.gov. Substance use often begins at home, said Cristina Christensen, criminal justice program supervisor at the Findlay Family Resource Center. According to the National Association for Children of Addiction, adolescents who use drugs are more likely to have one or more parents who also use drugs. NIH research found that 1 in 4 American children lived with a parent or guardian using drugs in 2023. Mental illness and substance use disorders frequently overlap, Thomas said, and it can be difficult for providers to determine which came first. "Sometimes it's challenging to know if the substance use disorder is a result of an untreated mental health condition or if the mental health condition has developed because of substance use," Thomas said. Thomas said many people use substances to cope with pain, either physical or emotional. "If we consider the idea that someone is attempting to address pain, we can better understand that substance use disorder is not necessarily dependent on the use of a particular substance," he said. Unfortunately, coping with pain has also meant drug overdoses have been used as a means for suicide, though data from the Coalition for Mental Wellbeing show that it is a small amount at only 8%. Christensen brings Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs into the conversation. Abraham Maslow, an American psychologist most famous for his theories on self-actualization, contended that there were five "levels" of human motivation in order to be a fully-actualized person. At the very bottom of Maslow's pyramid are basic survival needs like food, water, shelter, clothing. The second level is safety and personal wellbeing, then social needs like family, friends and a sense of community. The fourth level is self-respect and confidence and the final level is self-actualization or the ability to seek full potential and personal growth experiences. If someone doesn't have their basic needs met, they may not be able to maintain other areas of their life. If a drug user spends a large part of their income on drugs, they may not be able to afford basic necessities like food and shelter. Welch said many calls for service have some connection to substance use. "(Drug usage) affects the family dynamic as the drug becomes more important to the user than even their family," he said, adding that theft increases as people need to find a way to "support the habit." Violence can also increase as a result of drug usage. Frey agrees, saying perhaps it is desperation for more narcotics that leads the drug user to commit crimes to gain more of the substance. In Hancock County, 274 of the 1,471 jail admissions-nearly 19%- were for drug-related offenses, according to data collected by the Hancock County Coalition for Mental Wellbeing. Neither Welch nor Frey believe a completely drug-free community is realistic. "As long as there are narcotics, there will always be abuse," Welch said. So why fight a war that will never be won? Frey believes even one life saved is worth it. Welch continues. "Officers can't look at a problem and determine our response based on if its something that can be cured," he said. "Our job is to protect and serve and as long as we take that oath, we will continue to do just that." But perhaps it is Carly Downer, Wyandot County Overdose Response Coordinator, who said it best. "Maybe we'll never win the war of getting drugs out of the community," she said. "But we can win the battles. Every battle represents somebody's mother, somebody's brother, somebody's daughter or son. You have to keep trying. When you stop trying, that's when you lose." Addiction isn't a moral failure, Christensen said. It can be a physical disease and often substance use disorder and mental illness go very much hand in hand and it can be hard to find the root cause of the issue. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) advocates for "help not handcuffs" — that is, diverting individuals away from the criminal justice system. The Findlay Family Resource Center, under Christensen's direction, focuses on intercepting people sooner, before they make it into the criminal justice system. In both Findlay and Wyandot County, medical treatment is always provided over an arrest. Welch points out that if charges are warranted, a request for charges will be forwarded to the prosecutor for review. Findlay police have discretion for charges, whereas Wyandot County deputies have a policy and criteria to meet. Sometimes criminal charges are the wake-up call someone needs. Downer again reiterates that it's important to never stop trying to help, but unfortunately sometimes repeated responses to the same person can be detrimental to first responders' mental health. She said it's the "ones who fall short" that are the most difficult. "The success rate is low," she said. "It's a hard field to work in because you don't have many happy endings. But every happy ending makes it worth it. You never know, you may deal with the same person ten to fifteen times, but the sixteenth time is the time that they say,'That's it. That was my rock bottom.' You have to keep reaching out that hand. Just being in a position to keep doing that is very important." But each recovery is unique. Each case is different. Each person's path into — and out of — substance use is shaped by a mix of biology, trauma, environment and opportunity. According to Christensen, recovery has to be a choice. "Some people just aren't ready to dig deep," she said. But Thomas remains optimistic. The national average of sustained (90-day) treatment for substance use disorder is 20%. "In Hancock County, the rate was 63% for fiscal year 2025," he said. "This means more people are working toward, and achieving recovery, in our community than the national average." Thomas believes what he calls, "recovery capital" is key to recovery and preventing relapse. He defines this concept as making strong social connections with friends, family, support groups as well as consistent access to basic needs like safe housing, food or personal hygiene care. In other words, as Maslow taught, basic human needs have to be met before higher level concerns can be addressed. But as for law enforcement, treatment providers and families, the work continues in the gray areas where most real-world decisions are made.