Danielle Spisak's Unintentional Drug Overdose

When Danielle Spisak was left unresponsive in May 2013, at the Tri-point Medical Center in Concord from a heroin overdose, her acquaintance failed to call 911 before fleeing the scene. That day Mrs. Spisak was pronounced dead. As these heroin related deaths continue to rise this is becoming a concern for failing to seek medical attention at the scene of an overdose. Spisak, 22, a resident of Concord was at her acquaintances home when she was lethally injected with heroin. She is survived by her parents, Jim and Lisa Spisak; brother Mike Spisak and sister Megan Spisak. “She could have been alive if people were not so afraid to call for help when dealing with illegal substances.” Said Lisa Spisak. This is a common problem, as people do …show more content…
During that year there were 11.59 million residents in the state of Ohio where unintentional drug overdoses caused the deaths of 2,531 of those residents. This was a 20 percent increase since 2013 according to the state’s Health Department. Some of the states that have adapted the law include; Indiana, Kentucky, New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, all being near Ohio. The only neighboring state to still be on the fence about the bill is Michigan. Ohio being just one of the states in the Midwest is experiencing a heroin epidemic. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report from 2001 to 2014 there was a 6-fold increase in the total number of heroin related deaths nationwide. Ohio holds the record for the second-highest number of deaths caused by heroin overdose. That is nearly one death every three hours. These numbers could be much higher if it weren’t for in 2014 when the naloxone access law was passed. Naloxone (Narcan,) is an opiate antidote used to reverse the effects of opioids such as heroin. The law allows for medics and police to administer the drug to users who have overdosed on the scene. If 911 is not called in time the drug is not very …show more content…
Dealers are at large in Ohio and need to be stopped, by not passing the bill they wont get off easy.” In the United States opioids are playing a significant role in this growing drug epidemic. Opioids are drugs prescribed by doctors to reduce pain. Commonly known products of this drug include, oxycodone, morphine, and codeine. Some of the synthetic drugs being created from these prescribed medications are heroin, and an even more lethal drug, fentanyl. This drug is given to patients suffering from advanced terminal illnesses. People who take these prescribed drugs can build tolerance overtime. Leading them to need higher doses for the same effect. In this people were looking for something stronger and less expensive so this quickly lead to heroin abuse. However when people are given this drug they might think they are getting the amount they asked for however when people are dealing with synthetic medications they do not know the potency and could be getting more or less. This is what leads to accidental overdoses. Not everyone believes that the passing of the Good Samaritan bill will impact the severity of the heroin epidemic or a user’s thoughts on using the