Possible Overdose Death Under Investigation In Lakewood

LAKEWOOD, OH — Police are investigating a possible overdose death in Lakewood.

On Sunday afternoon, police were called to an apartment on Edgewater Drive. Callers said the resident, a Lakewood woman, had not been heard from in some time.

Officers got into the woman's apartment and found her dead, according to Lakewood police records obtained by Patch. Her death is being investigated as a possible overdose, investigators said.

Toxicology reports can take days or weeks to return results, so police won't be able to confirm the woman died of an overdose until those results arrive.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a sharp increase in overdose deaths in Ohio, according to a recent report from Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. During the second quarter of 2020, Ohio's death rate from opioid overdoses jumped to 11.01 per 100,000 people — the highest rate seen in a decade. The previous 10-year high was in the first quarter of 2017, when opioid overdoses effected 10.87 people per 100,000.

The Ohio Attorney General urged Ohioans to seek medical care in the event of an overdose, despite concerns about COVID-19. He also asked Ohioans to be vigilant about how they store prescription medications.

Many opioid addictions begin at home. Yost's office released guidelines for properly storing medications, including:

• Do not share medication
• Track usage of pills to prevent pilfering
• Lock up addictive prescriptions
• Store prescriptions in a high location, to keep them out of reach of children

Get more tips on how to safely keep and dispose of prescription medications from Yost's office.