(WTOL) - According to the Ohio Department of Health, more people die from drug overdoses in Ohio than traffic accidents. More than 80 percent of those deaths are from opioids, or forms of heroin.
Now the medical community is using a different drug to try to solve this problem.
Suboxone is one of the few physician-prescribed antidotes for heroin addiction. It works by blocking the high from the opiate and alleviates withdrawal symptoms. It's often an addict's last resort to get clean.
Dr. Victoria Kelly, a psychiatrist in Sylvania, prescribes the drug to treat heroin or opiate addiction.
"For a lot of people that are struggling with recovery, it allowed a very easy way for them to get their life back on track," Dr. Kelly explained. "By far, it has been a successful medication."
The problem is Suboxone contains a small amount of opioids, so it can be as addictive as the drug itself.
"They get addicted to Suboxone, and at this point, they abuse it," said Youssef Sari, PhD, a pharmacologist at the University of Toledo.
Sari says some addicts don't take the drug as prescribed – they inject it rather than letting it dissolve under their tongue – and end up taking high doses.
But Dr. Kelly says it's rare for someone to get addicted to Suboxone, and that it has helped save many lives by helping addicts wean off of heroin.
"Those sorts of behaviors (Suboxone addiction) don't usually happen to the general Suboxone user," she said.
She added that addicts using Suboxone for treatment also need behavioral therapy in order to make a full recovery.
