Since one year ago, the number of deaths in Dayton due to opioid overdose has dropped by about half. For Dayton/Montgomery County, the Overdose Deaths in 2017 = 566. Year-to-date 11/15/2018 = 250. An item in the New York Times 11/26/18 offers a number of explanations:

1. The state government expanded Medicaid in 2015, " a move that gave nearly 700,000 low-income adults access to addiction and mental health treatment." In Dayton there are more than a dozen new treatment providers compared to a year ago.

2. Ohio pays for people who go to jail (and thus lose their eligibility for Medicaid) to stay in treatment with their regular provider while they are incarcerated.

3. Carfentanil, a highly toxic street drug, was involved in 1,100 deaths in Ohio a year ago. It is no longer as readily available in Dayton, possibly because traffickers realized carfentanil was killing too much of their customer base.

4. Naloxine (Narcan), a drug that can revive a person with an opioid overdose, is carried by virtually all on-duty EMTs and police officers. Last year Dayton bought $350,000 of Narcan.

5. Dayton has invested in peer support programs.

6. Law enforcement and public health representatives "actually agree" the goal is to reduce overdose deaths by any means. Dayton has 2 needle exchanges , where clients may connect with treatment providers. http://www.phdmc.org/coat