$36 million for prescription addiction

LEBANON, Ohio - The state of Ohio is about to launch a $36 million project to stop prescription drug addiction.
The governor announced the program Tuesday. Law enforcement officers and drug counselors said even if you've never popped one of the highly addictive pills you are still affected by them.

"It effects every taxpayer in Ohio," said Russ Dern, the Executive Director of Mental Health and Recovery Centers of Warren County.

Dern sees people every day who are addicted to prescription pills like Oxycontin, Vicodin and Percocet.

"[They] have the poorest long term recovery rate of anyone we see in our system and also, they are the most costly people to our system when they fail," said Dern.

Dern said the cost is not just on treatment centers but also the courts, law enforcement, the jails and publicly funded hospitals.

The commander of the Warren County Drug Task Force, John Burke, said the prescription drugs contribute to serious crimes.

"You have to have that drug if you are an addict," said Burke. "So, how are you going to get that kind of money? That money's going to have to be generated through thefts and robberies and burglaries."

Burke hopes some of the $36 million will go to law enforcement. Most of it is expected to go to treatment and work readiness programs. Nine million dollars came from Ohio's alcohol and drug addiction service organizations. That qualified the state for the additional $27 million in matching federal funds.

"Anything that can improve the treatment success, the long term recovery of this population will serve the community as a whole in terms of reducing longer term costs," said Dern.

Exactly how the plan will executed is still in the works. There is a meeting Thursday to get the project started.