Maryland sees a rise in overdose deaths in 2020 and many believe the pandemic is to blame

Maryland sees a rise in overdose deaths in 2020 and many believe the pandemic is to blame

DIED FROM DRUG AND ALCOHOLOVERDOSES IN 2020.

THAT'S THEMOST EVER RECORDED IN A SINGLEYEAR..

AND MANY BELIEVE THEPANDEMIC IS PARTLY TO BLAME.WMAR-2 NEWS' RAY STRICKLANDJOINS US LIVE IN DOWNTOWNBALTIMORE.

AND RAY YOU SPOKETO THE CO- FOUNDER OF ATREATMENT CENTER WHO TOLD YOUHE ALSO SAW AN INCREASEPATIENTS.YEAH THATCO- FOUNDER OF AMATUS RECOVERYCENTERS SAYS HE SAW APERCENT INCREASE IN PATIENTSLAST YEAR.

HE SAYS HE BELIEVESTHE ISOLATION AND UNCERTAINTYTHAT RESULTED FROM THEPANDEMIC MADE THIS OPIOEPIDEMIC EVEN WORSWith the nationfocused on ending the COVID-19pandemic , the public healthcrisis of drug addiction hit arecord high.

According to thelatest data from the CDC ,more than 87,000 people diedfrom drug overdoses over the12 month period that ended inSeptember of last year.

Thatthe most ever recorded sincethe MODERN opioid epidemicbegan in the 90s.

Like much ofthe country, itworse in Maryland.

More than2,700 people died from drugand alcohol overdoses in 2020IT'S A record, and a numberthat increased nearly 20percent compared to last year.14 56 11“I was stuck withmyself” Sidney Klebs says shestopped using heroin andfentanyl for nearly two yeauntil she relapsed during thepandemic.

14 53 27“It wasvery stressful.

I forgot thati had a disease that kills10,000 of people a year” Shesays she did seek help butsince many treatments centersmoved their services onlinethe power of her addictionultimately took over.

14 53 04“I just stopped going tomeetings on zoom and i stoppedshowing up end i stopped doingthe right thing” MichaelSilberman is the co-founder ofAmatus Recovery which has 13treatment centers in BaltimoreCounty.

He says he knows of atleast 16 treatments centersthat were actually forced toclose during the pandemic.leaving many people whostruggle with addiction withFEW PLACES to turn, ESPCIALLYTHOSE WITH FIXED INCOMES.

2:30the lack of bed space onlycaused more issues becausethere was no where else to go.Silberman says drug addictionis an overlooked public healthcrisis.

And he believes thecountry needs a more proactiveapproach to solve it.

14 45 16“Funding for narcan is greatbut that funding needs to beallocated to more treatment andmore beds.And Silberman says even beforetreatment centers closed in thestatethere was alreadyshortage of bed space.

He saysin order for people to get thetreatment they needthe stateneeds to remove certainbarriers so more facilitiescan openLive in downtownbaltimoreIWMAR-2 newsA cold front will approach tregion late Thursda