Substance abuse and illegal drugs have been problems in Oglethorpe County for years, but they continue to increase, despite interventions by officials and programs.
Jason Lewis, the former EMS director who is now the county administrator and coroner, said the county has had these concerns since the 1960s.
In the ‘90s and 2000s, prescription medication and crystal methamphetamine were the most widely abused substances in Oglethorpe County, Lewis said. The emergence of fentanyl didn’t occur until 2017, when Lewis said he began to see the drug “everywhere.”
Then during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said the county saw a rise in illegal drug use, especially fentanyl.
“The opioid epidemic was crippling to us,” Lewis said. “And then you couple the opioid epidemic kind of right on top, or with, COVID right in the middle, and it's kind of a perfect storm.”
During the pandemic, some residents struggled with access to addiction and mental health care. In combination with isolation, he said this may have led to the increase in illegal drug use.
Non-fatal overdose cases in the county peaked in 2020 at 28, with no fatal incidents that year, according to biospatial, a company that compiles U.S. EMS data.
There were 24 non-fatal overdose cases and three drug deaths in the county for 2024.
One possibility for the recent uptick could be the Georgia 9-1-1 Medical Amnesty Law, EMS director Josh Robinson said the law grants immunity from arrest, charge or prosecution for those seeking medical assistance for a drug overdose.
Because of this law, he said, people may feel more inclined to call emergency services when experiencing or witnessing an overdose, knowing the person in distress will not face legal repercussions.
Regardless, officials and groups in Oglethorpe County, including EMS, the Sheriff’s Office and local addiction support and educational efforts are specifically working to stem this increase.
EMS stocks up on Narcan
As coroner, Lewis had become familiar with fatal overdose cases.
He said the most common age range for a fatal overdose was 25-40. However, “addiction can take hold of somebody at any age, of any socioeconomic status, of any race.”
Lewis said Oglethorpe County EMS is using a number of methods to battle the epidemic. Narcan is readily available, it has increased the number of automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) in county buildings, and it is building a strong relationship with the school system to support children of those with addictions.
Narcan, a drug commonly used to reverse the effects of opioid overdose, was often carried in doses of only up to 4 milligrams. Now, first responders have doses of up to 14 milligrams due to the strength of modern drugs, Lewis said.
However, Narcan can now be bought over the counter, so data on overdoses and Narcan administration are difficult to collect and don’t account for unreported cases.
EMS monitors emergency room admission rates in the county through the Department of Public Health, as well as data from drug-related arrests with the Sheriff’s Office and ambulance response.
“It takes everybody (to fight the problem),” Lewis said. “It takes law enforcement being on the same page with emergency services being on the same page with educators and community stakeholders. No one of those jobs is more important than the other.”
Law enforcement targets source
The Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Office has a clear, firm stance on drugs in the county.
“Zero tolerance,” Sheriff David Gabriel said. “We don't play around with it. We do not make excuses for people.”
The Sheriff’s Office, Gabriel said, has been working to clear the county of as many drugs as possible. Right now, he said, it is difficult to find illegal access to substances, going as far to say that the county is “very dry.”
He said this is largely due to successful drug busts in nearby areas that disrupted the supply chain.
In addition to a designated drug investigator, the office also has a drug detection dog, is a part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force and sends its deputies to drug enforcement training and Desert Snow, a training focused on criminal interdiction.
Gabriel hopes to continue limiting the supply of drugs in the county by enforcing legal consequences and ensuring access to support services.
“You have to keep on it, keep on it, keep on it, and keep on it,” Gabriel said. “Keep your head up, and keep on working.”
Groups provide resources, support
Lewis said he believes one of the biggest obstacles in rural areas like Oglethorpe County is having access to appropriate addiction care.
MedLink Colbert works with Oglethorpe County residents by providing medical and counseling services to those affected by addiction. Another common source for addiction care is Advantage Behavioral Health Systems located in Athens.
The Oglethorpe County community supports its members through Oglethorpe County Family Connection, a network focused on “working toward measurably better outcomes for our children, families and communities,” as well as other, unofficial initiatives.
“Through community health clinics or churches,” Lewis said, “there's a lot of folks that can really kind of pull together and get somebody the resources they need.”
Education in the county starts in elementary school, as the Sheriff’s Department continues to run its Choosing Healthy Activities and Methods Promoting Safety (C.H.A.M.P.S.) initiative.
Started in 2021, it is now run by Sgt. Jonathan Duke, who teaches fifth-graders about illegal substances, as well as other topics such as bullying, self-respect and hunting safety.
“My favorite lesson, and the one I teach — it’s the first thing I teach every year — is about choices and consequences,” Duke said. “If you make a positive choice, you'll have a positive consequence. If you make a negative choice, you'll have a negative consequence.”
Through April, Oglethorpe County had experienced six non-fatal overdose cases and no fatal overdose cases this year.
“I don’t think that it's going away,” Lewis said. “The only thing that we can do is mitigate. The only thing that we can do is essentially identify needs and try our best to fill those needs.”