VIDEO: The Fight Against The Opioid Epidemic Continues In The Magnolia State

TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) -Battling the opioid epidemic is a problem the state continues to face.

It’s a problem state leaders are working to resolve.

On Tuesday, state leaders and multiple law enforcement agencies hosted a town rally in Tupelo focus on ways to end this outbreak.

Since 2013, there have been nearly 500 deaths related to opioid abuse in the state.

So far in 2017, Lee County ranks fourth in the state in terms of all drug overdoses, with the vast majority of those being opioid overdoses.

State leaders believe one reason behind these alarming numbers is due to how accessible the drugs are.

They believe one way to combat this problem is to continue to educate and make everyone aware of this problem.

“When you have a situation where there are more than 10, 000 more prescriptions for opiods filled in a county than there are residents, that’s a clear barometer that you’ve got a problem,” said John Dowdy, Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics Director.

“A lot of people end up with this simply because of an illness or a surgery or something and they don’t even recognize initially that it’s a problem,” said Amanda Wilson, director of addiction services at Lifecore Health Group. “They went  from an appropriate use to abuse and they don’t even know where they cross that line.”

There are treatment centers all throughout the state for those who are battling opioid abuse and addiction, however, Dowdy said finding funding for these programs is becoming a difficult.