The fight to stem heroin addiction must continue
The recent death of Michael Szot, the Geneva 23-year-old we wrote about in this space Tuesday, unfortunately is a reminder of the work still to be done to fight heroin abuse in the suburbs and nationwide.
Szot was sentenced to four years probation, a year of work release jail time and 200 hours of community service after a 2014 fatal drunken-driving crash in Naperville. He spoke to high school students about his bad decisions that led to the crash.
But he died in June at Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove due to "combined (heroin, fentanyl and diphenhydramine) drug intoxication." His death is a high-profile example of what Kane County Coroner Rob Russell talked about just last month.
"We've had a record-shattering heroin death year so far," Russell told the Kane County Board. "And the totals I'm talking about don't include some we're still awaiting toxicology results. So there will be more. And those totals don't include the synthetic fentanyl deaths that we're also seeing come onto the scene."
It was grim news. Russell said there were 19 heroin deaths confirmed between Dec. 1 through the start of July. The most recorded in Kane County in one year is 27 in 2012.
The spike comes despite efforts locally, statewide and nationally to stem the rise of heroin abuse and heroin deaths. It points to the need of police departments, local governments, addiction experts, schools, parents and others to continue their efforts to educate the public - youth in particular - to the dangers of heroin and other drugs.
In Kane County, sheriff's police and many local departments have begun carrying naloxone, an opiate reversal agent to help stem the tide of overdose deaths that reached a critical point in Illinois just two years ago. DuPage County officials last month said 86 lives have been saved in DuPage since the beginning of the year with the use of naloxone. Lake County also has seen positive results. That's good news and bad news: lives are saved but so many are still caught in the throes of addiction.
More work is needed. Illinois, however, is leading in the fight. A state law approved last year now has morphed into a federal law signed by the President late last month that makes naloxone much more readily available. The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act is also known as Lali's Law, named in memory of a Stevenson High School graduate who died of a heroin overdose. Its passage is proof that work started in communities just like those in the suburbs can be effective. We mustn't give up. Our kids need help.