From left, business owner Denny Offstein, Councilman Mike Walters, Butler Eagle News Editor Tom Harrison, Kathy Cline and Mark Peffer, chief deputy county sheriff, discuss the decrease in fatal drug overdoses at Wednesday's Neighborhood Drug Watch meeting.

Many reasons likely factor into the sharp decline in drug overdose deaths in Butler County this year.

Last year there were 92 confirmed overdose deaths in the county. There have been 20 so far this year.

The handful of people who attended Wednesday’s Neighborhood Drug Watch meeting at the Butler fire station discussed the reasons.

The reasons presented at the meeting by various members include:

[naviga:ul]

[naviga:li]• A better understanding of how addiction starts[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]• TV commercials show extremes from addicts[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]• Availability of Narcan[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]• Decline in reporting of drug activity[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]• Dealers selling crack and methamphetamine instead of heroin[/naviga:li]

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Read the full story in Thursday’s Butler Eagle.