Duluth works to address recent surge in overdoses

Duluth law enforcement officials said Friday they arrested two heroin drug dealers and are looking for a third male suspect in response to a surge in heroin and opioid related overdoses over the past week.

Duluth police and the Lake Superior Drug and Violent Crime Task Force did not provide exact numbers on the recent overdoses, but said it's a growing trend.

"It's a rising trend with opioids in this area," said Lt. Jeff Kazel, commander with the Lake Superior Drug and Violent Crime Task Force. "In past years we didn't have as many. Now we're seeing it more often."

St. Louis County public health officials say they've seen progress in collaboration efforts with medical professionals and treatment centers to tackle prescription drug addiction. Mark Nelson, St. Louis County adult services director, said the Northeast Minnesota Opioid Abuse Response Strategies (OARS) work group has been getting medical professionals, including dentists, involved to tackle the "over prescription" problem. He says 50 percent of abused narcotics are stolen from family members who've been prescribed opioids.

"The intent is to make sure we're addressing things in the system regionally that would be contributing to the problem," Nelson said. "And one of them of course would be pain management."

But as more prescription drugs become less available, heroin addiction rises, he added.

"Unfortunately heroin has been very available so were seeing an access to drug issue as being an opportunity that is still there," Nelson said.

The state passed a law last year that allows first responders to carry and administer Narcan, an anti-overdose drug that restarts the respiratory system of people who overdose on heroin or painkillers.

Narcan, also known by the generic name naloxone, is not accessible to good Samaritans or drug users by law. Some public health workers are pressing to get the drug into the hands of the public to save more lives.

"There is some ambivalence within the law enforcement community about it and some people feel that it might not be a help," he said.

But Kazel said law enforcement is not opposed to Narcan use, if it's done by emergency responders. The Duluth Fire Department has administered the drug to save lives on numerous occasions, he added.

"There'd be more deaths up here if it wasn't for the fact that we've done a good job of getting Narcan to the people that need it," Kazel said.

The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office said Friday a deputy was able to revive a woman who was having trouble breathing using Narcan

Nelson says Narcan puts people into "immediate withdrawal" and opens up possibilities for further treatment options.

"If there is an intervention and somebody survives an overdose there is a possibility that they can live a recovered life," he said.