Some bad — but not particularly shocking — news was released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week: Overdose deaths were on the rise in Pennsylvania in 2020.

During a year dominated by the coronavirus pandemic, 5,172 overdose deaths were reported in the state. This marks a 16% rise from 4,444 deaths the previous year.

Despite the increase, the state was below the national average increase of 29%, or 93,000 overdose deaths. And the number of deaths in the state from overdoses was still lower than peak years of the opioid epidemic: 5,400 overdose deaths in 2017, and nearly double that amount in 2014.

It comes as no surprise that the pandemic contributed to the epidemic since, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, societal lockdowns and social distancing isolated those struggling with drug addiction and made treatment more difficult to obtain.

Most people faced some sort of hardship during COVID-19, from economic woes and lost jobs to separation from friends or family. An addict who needs a support network or treatment services on a regular basis likely faced a challenging situation this past year.

The one odd factor reported by coroners and law enforcement officials during the past year is that heroin — which saw spikes in use during recent years — and prescription drugs saw a decrease in use, while cocaine and methamphetamine use saw an increase.

Regardless of which drugs people were abusing during COVID-19, county leaders should be ready to reinstate a fight — against drug abuse — that has been overshadowed by a larger battle against a deadly disease this past year.

Two years ago, the state and county saw some good news. In 2019, the state received $81 million in federal funding to combat the opioid crisis over a period of three years. Around that same time, the county — once at the forefront of the crisis — saw a decline in overdose deaths.

We hope county groups that provide information to combat drug abuse can ramp up their efforts now that the pandemic is waning, and county leaders recognize that, unlike COVID-19, overdose deaths are a crisis that won’t fade away.

Two months from now is National Recovery Month. That would be a good time to get the message out that Butler County won’t allow itself to follow dangerous state and national trends.

— NCD