The Cancers of Greed and Power in Scioto County

 

I feel something must be understood. So many of us love our county; however, we are all complicit in the deterioration of our once-valued simple way of life. For whatever reason, we let our guard down and voluntarily stepped onto the slippery slope leading to an eventual fall. No brush-aside

The declining state of our health and state of living in Scioto County can be largely attributed to greed and to the desire for the attainment of wealth, power, and pleasure. The moneygrubbing owners and doctors of the pill mills, the covetous participants in human trafficking and sexual exploitation, the criminals employed in the deadly enterprise of heroin distribution – all are driven by their insatiable desires for more: more money … more power … more control … more self-gratification. We all see the existence of these mercenaries in our midst, and even the most ethical of us failed to stop them with due haste.

This cancer of excess and indulgence spread from the top down in a vicious cycle that crippled not only players but also innocents who happened to be “in the way.” This perversion became an ever-growing, self-feeding infirmity in our once-trusted systems of enforcement and justice. Over the years, we, the populace, became accustomed to the plight of our depressed environment, and many of us became indifferent to the point of voluntary submission.

The mills, the sex trafficking, and the drugs created untold collateral damage, feeding both addiction and crime as they seized the county. Dependence pushed joblessness. Robbery, dealing, and prostitution became means of fighting dope sickness and paying the bills. And, sadly the number of children born addicted to drugs skyrocketed.

The inescapable result – Scioto County achieved the rank of 88 out of 88 Ohio counties in terms of overall health in the 2020 County Health Rankings, a study conducted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

Using measures such as quality of life, social and economic factors, and health behaviors, the county received marks consistently worse than Ohio’s averages.

Perhaps most striking was the study’s measure of premature death. Defined as years of potential life lost before the age of 75 per 100,000, Scioto County lost 13,100 years between 2016 and 2018. (Also tied with Pike County, the rate is in stark contrast to Delaware County whose 4,100 years lost was the fewest in the state.)

Low-points for the county in the health rankings were predictable – mental health, obesity, and physical inactivity. All of these correlate with Scioto's distinction of being the original epicenter for opioid problems.

By 2010-2012 illegitimate pain clinics had operated in Scioto County in a “family tree” fashion. Between 2002-2011 the county was home to a leading prescriber of oxycodone in the nation-three different times. And, in 2010, Scioto County saw 9.7M pain pills dispensed (123 pills/person) – the highest in Ohio.

The opioid epidemic found Scioto with the highest fatal OD rate in state, the highest opioid addiction rate in Ohio, the highest rate of NAS – neonatal abstinence syndrome, the highest rate of drug incarcerations in Ohio, and a huge increase in Hepatitis C rates – again, the highest in Ohio.

Since the pill mill days, Scioto County has been waging a war against the “devil” – drug abuse and all the factors contributing to its deadly hold. There is a wonderful grassroots response to drug abuse in this rural county. 

Still, citizens must never ignore the obvious: evolving conditions sustained over a long period created a high degree of vulnerability to substance abuse, trafficking, and criminal profiteering. In 2009, 10 Pain Clinics were operating in Scioto County (50% owned by convicted Felons). Scioto County became home to an entire sub-economy based on “pill dealing” as 65% fatal Rx overdose victims died from illegal “street sales.”

The community remains frustrated and desensitized by the greed and avarice of those who profited (and still profit) from power and manipulation. People here have little desire or reason to trust officials and institutions in their unhealthy environment. Politics here are divisive and exceedingly self-serving. Courts are suspect in the eyes of many.

Once, proud Appalachian folks pulled themselves out of poverty and unhealthy conditions. Being highly independent, they showed dogged resilience as they used their remarkable ingenuity to remain self-reliant and free. Resisting any yoke of weighty control, these people prized their education and strong family values. Their values guided their decisions.

Then came the temptation of easy money that possessed the profiteers of domination. Through hook and crook, these extortionists took control of people and resources as they spun the myth of the need for instant gratification. They held drugs, sex, and pleasure before the populace as acceptable escapes to ease the pains of poverty and despair.

The result was a dark sellout to baseless desires. It was our sellout – all of the so-called “good, bad and indifferent.” We in Scioto County refused to demand the right to our basic and good concepts of life, liberty, and happiness. Many of us fell victim to to the greed and desire, but many others chose capitulation to an enemy they refused to comprehend fully. This led to a general devaluation of others and to our “acceptable” depression.

In Scioto County, treading troubled waters has become a way of life for most. Until people come to terms openly with the county's mercenary disease and they admit their undeniable indifference to change, essential atonement and cleansing cannot occur. Dirty hands in powerful positions grip the reins of inequality that restrain justice. Given the chance to remain in power and in control, they will continue to degrade our homeland.

“Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction.”

– Erich Fromm (1900-1980), sociologist and humanistic philosopher