Harford heroin overdoses 'continue to increase,' sheriff says

The spate of heroin overdoses in Harford County seems to be continuing unabated, as the numbers keep climbing on the heroin awareness boards outside local Sheriff's Office precincts.The county has seen 175 overdoses from the drug this year so far, 27 of them fatal, according to the latest numbers reported Monday. That adds two deaths to the county's total this month. There were 162 total calls for overdoses earlier this month.At this time last year, the Sheriff's Office had responded to 92 suspected non-fatal heroin overdoses and 19 fatal overdoses, spokesperson Kyle Andersen said.&quot;These numbers reflect suspected overdoses. As the year progresses, and we receive supporting documentation from toxicology reports, these numbers might need to be adjusted,&quot; Andersen explained about the latest overdose counts.&quot;For example, the toxicology report may show the cause of death was something other than heroin or the report from an unattended death where we did not suspect heroin, might return showing that heroin was, in fact, the cause of death,&quot; Andersen said.Overdoses &quot;plague our community&quot; and, &quot;unfortunately,&quot; the numbers are still growing, Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler said via Andersen Tuesday.&quot;Narcan applications by first responders continue, as have the efforts to interdict the flow of heroin into our county,&quot; Andersen said in the statement, referring to the opioid antidote that is administered directly after an overdose and helps block the overdose's effects.&quot;Baltimore City consistently appears to be a source for a large amount of the heroin affecting Harford County and the Task Force has, and will continue, to work to stem the flow of this drug into our county,&quot; Andersen said. &quot;Sheriff Gahler is proud of the efforts of this agency, but recognizes the ongoing fight is far from over.&quot;Another non-fatal overdose was reported in Bel Air Friday, Andersen said. Earlier this month, two people who had been using suspected heroin were treated on the street in the 100 block of North Main Street downtown.The county investigated 201 overdoses in 2015. By early May this year, there were already about 80 calls investigated.Earlier this month, the Sheriff's Office received more than $280,000 in state funding to further its anti-heroin efforts, which included $73,304 for a heroin coordinator position and $207,000 for local Safe Streets Initiative efforts, Gov. Larry Hogan announced.The money was part of statewide funding for heroin coordinators in 17 local law enforcement agencies, as well as Maryland State Police.Harford received the second-highest allocation for a coordinator.

Harford heroin overdoses 'continue to increase,' sheriff says

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