Screening of documentary film
Inheritance at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 1 at the Freed Center. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.  

By Karen Kier
Pharmacist on behalf of the ONU HealthWise team

In 2024, David Yost, Ohio’s Attorney General, released statistics about fentanyl (a synthetic opioid) and overdose deaths in Ohio. In the United States as of 2023, there were over 70,000 fentanyl-related overdose deaths with 3,579 of those in Ohio.

Fentanyl was responsible for 98% of the opioid deaths in Ohio in 2023 and continues to be a major problem. Since 2010, Ohio has seen a significant decrease in heroin-related deaths with a rapid increase in fentanyl deaths.  

The Ohio Attorney General’s Office has put together a team of experts to help find solutions to the opioid crisis. One member of this team is Dr. Jon Sprague who serves as the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) eminent scholar and the director of science and research for the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.  Dr. Sprague has been instrumental in writing Ohio’s law on synthetic drugs, which focused on synthetic cathinones (stimulant), cannabinoids (marijuana), and opioids (fentanyl, heroin, morphine).

With his former position with the BCI, his team helped to identify dangerous substances circulating in Ohio.  The BCI has identified over 33 distinct versions of chemically modified fentanyl.  One of these fentanyl analogues is known as carfentanil.  Carfentanil is 100 times more potent than fentanyl and 10,000 times more potent than morphine.  The Ohio BCI first identified this compound in 2016 in Ohio and it has been reported in 14 counties including Northwest Ohio, Southeastern Ohio, and Central Ohio.  

These dangerous chemicals are in our cities, counties, towns, and villages.  It is impossible for someone to know when purchasing a product on the street what is actually in it.  It can be difficult to know what is in some products sold in retail establishments selling hemp-related products.

The FDA recently released a warning not to sell, eat, or serve a hemp product called Diamond Shruumz.  The product comes as chocolate bars, infused cones, and gummies.  Over 158 people have been hospitalized and 2 have died from consuming this product.  When the FDA did an analysis, they found dangerous levels of a banned controlled substance as well as prescription medications.  All product has been pulled from store shelves, but individuals may still have the product in their home.  

All of this is to say, it can be difficult to know the quality of a product.  This can be especially difficult for individuals who may have a substance use disorder (SUD).  Once addicted, the drive to find the drug can lead to exposure to dangerous chemicals. The potency of fentanyl and its various chemical versions can be deadly in very small quantities.

The National Institute for Mental Health defines SUD as a treatable mental disorder affecting a person’s brain and behavior, leading to an inability to control the use of substances such as legal or illegal drugs, alcohol, or medications.

Research has shown that 40-60% of the risk of developing a SUD is influenced by a person’s genetics.  One can inherit a risk of developing SUD from a parent.  Other influences for developing SUD include lifestyle and the use of addictive substances by family and/or friends. 

These factors are illustrated in a new documentary following an 11-year-old boy from Pomeroy, Ohio for eight years chronicling his family’s struggles with drug addiction. Inheritance is an award-winning documentary filmed in rural Ohio Appalachia and is a reality check on the dangers of SUD mixed with poverty and the impact on families.  

NPR Here & Now noted about the film, “The documentary is unflinching in depicting the lives that so many Americans face but are so rarely seen.”  One in 8 children grow up in a household with at least one parent with a SUD. 

Ohio Northern University Raabe College of Pharmacy is honored to be one of the first institutions in the country to premier this film.  The viewing is open to the public.  You are invited to come see the film on Tuesday, October 1, 2024 at 6 p.m. at the ONU Freed Center.  Doors open at 5:30 p.m.  

Please join us for this important event. For more information on SUD or the reversal drug naloxone, please contact a healthcare professional. 

ONU Healthwise is offering the flu and COVID-19 vaccine clinics Monday through Friday from 2-6 p.m.