PICAYUNE — A number of overdose deaths have occurred since the beginning of this year, mostly due to the abuse and mixing of prescription medication.

Pearl River County Coroner Derek Turnage said his office works an average of 30 calls per month, which includes deaths due to natural causes such as old age as well as accidents and drug overdoses. So far this year about 17 of those deaths were associated with an overdose of drugs.

While exact numbers were not available at press time most of the drugs involved include medications such as methadone, Xanax, soma and Hydrocodone used individually or mixed together.

Some of the most recent reports Turnage had on his desk included deaths from an over dose of Hydrocodone, cocaine and morphine. A separate recent report listed a mixture of OxyContin, methadone and Hydrocodone, he said.

A number of household chemicals have also become a problem with abuse, referred to as huffing, Turnage said.

“They seem simple but can cause harm and be fatal,” Turnage said.

Huffing chemicals or household items can cause a person to asphyxiate, reducing blood flow to the brain and causing the person to pass out even during activities.

“It’s something they are doing that they don’t need to be doing that can cause long term effects,” Turnage said.

There are multiple ways to fight drug addiction. Chancery Court Clerk David Earl Johnson said there are two ways to utilize his office to fight drug addiction. If a person knows they have a problem they can chose to have themselves committed for treatment. A family member would be required to sign the proper documentation with them and they would then be put on a list for treatment at Whitfield.

Alternately if the person is not willing to commit themselves then family members can hire a lawyer and file a suit at Johnson’s office to have that person committed. A summons would be served and that person would have three to five days to report to the court. If that appearance is not made in that time then the judge issues a writ to have that person picked up.

“The road that they are on is going to carry them two places, one is jail and one is death,” Johnson said.

After the person is committed they will have to wait in the Pearl River County Jail for an available bed at Whitfield. That wait could take anywhere from two to 10 weeks. They would not be held with the general jail population but would be kept in a cell either with a non violent offender or another person waiting for a bed at Whitfield, Johnson said.

Once at Whitfield, a state hospital, the program will take 28 days and will give the patient the tools they need to handle the emotional aspects of addiction.

“It’s not a cure when they get to Whitfield. It just gives them the tools to handle their emotions,” Johnson said.

Sheriff David Allison encourages anyone who has a drug problem to talk to Johnson and get the help they need.

Even though his department is trying to get rid of the drug problem in the county, the only true way to fight the problem is to eliminate demand.

“The demand won’t be here and that will help us get the drugs out of the county,” Allison said.

“I said it once and I’ll say it again, we can’t arrest ourselves out of this problem,” Picayune Police Chief Jim Luke said. “We’re losing a lot of good people due to this disease.”

A program is in the works that will utilize current technology and allow young people to contact the Police Department for help with drug problems, Luke said.

All coroner and law enforcement findings concerning drug overdoses are sent to the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, Turnage said. That information is used to keep track of the medication associated with over doses and where that medication is coming from.