Evidently, Rick Huber still has just as good a grasp on the drug problem facing Jamestown and Chautauqua County as he ever had.

A couple of weeks ago, Huber discussed the issues he sees with John D’Agostino, regional editor for The Post-Journal and Dunkirk OBSERVER. Now, this week, Jamestown Police Chief Tim Jackson says his department has already investigated as many drug overdose deaths in five months of 2021 as it did in all of 2020.

Responses from officers to “drug overdose incidents” also has trended upward. On average, over a five-year span, the department has responded to 34 calls a year; however, that number jumped to 60 calls in 2020 and 59 calls so far this year. In April of this year alone, officers responded 18 times to reported drug overdoses.

To his credit, Jackson isn’t punting the problem onto county agencies or to non-profit agencies. Department members are discussing new strategies to combat the overdose problem, and Jackson quickly admits the department has to be part of a community effort.

Jackson’s statement mirrors something Huber said told us — something has been missing in the county’s fight against drug addiction.

“We need to approach the people most affected by this,” Huber said. “County (departments) and non-profits are not working with people who have a foot in both worlds,” he said. “They are (the ones) who can talk to the people who are actually addicted, the drug dealers and work with the police at the same time to keep those who want to get well safe.”

Chautauqua County seemed to be making headway a couple of years ago in the fight against addiction. It’s time for the community to ramp up its efforts again with an eye toward new approaches. As Huber and Jackson relate so well, our old approaches aren’t working.