Macomb County, which has a population that is far less than Wayne and Oakland counties -- leads the state in heroin deaths, and saw a jump in 2013, the Macomb Daily reports.
Chad Selweski of the Macomb Daily reports that the county recorded 95 heroin deaths in 2013, up 28 percent from the previous year. Prescription drug deaths also rose about 28 percent, totaling 105 last year.
Overall, deaths related to all drugs were up 33 percent in the county, the paper reported.
Selweski writes:
The 2014 trends through mid-March are not encouraging. Drug deaths, including those from heroin, are on a path toward an all-time high for the county.
“We’re starting to see Ecstacy deaths,” Macomb County Medical Examiner Daniel Spitz said, according to the paper. “The … last (three or four) months I think we’ve had four, which is a lot when we haven’t had any for many, many months.”
Macomb County has a population of about 847,000 compared to 1.2 million in Oakland County and 1.7 million in Wayne County. -- Allan Lengel
