by Tom Barrett | Dec 12, 2018 | Opioid Crisis
It’s a three-millimeter-wide tablet that dissolves under a person’s tongue to deliver fast pain relief during extreme trauma. Like a broken femur or a gunshot wound. It’s five to 10 times more powerful than fentanyl, and 1,000 times more potent than morphine. It’s...
by Tom Barrett | Nov 14, 2018 | Opioid Crisis
In 1998 computer technician Doug Hale had surgery to repair a damaged urinary tract. Six months later, he experienced excruciating, burning pain. Despite years of treatments, he continued to suffer. Then in 2006, his doctor prescribed strong doses of opioids. Ten...
by Tom Barrett | Oct 17, 2018 | Opioid Crisis
The painfully thin young man with visible sores over much of his skin looked much older than his 24 years. His body was wracked with pain and infection. He had trouble walking. Two years of daily heroin injections had taken their toll on his emaciated frame. Knowing...
by Tom Barrett | Sep 19, 2018 | Opioid Crisis
A 10-month-old girl rolled over onto her father’s heroin needle. By the time paramedics arrived, she had turned blue and was unresponsive. She had to be revived with the anti-overdose drug naloxone. Meanwhile, an 8-year-old girl in the same city also required...
by Tom Barrett | Aug 14, 2018 | Opioid Crisis
The opioid epidemic is getting worse. According to the most recent report issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), emergency room visits associated with opioid overdose increased about 30% across the country, from July 2016 to September...
by Tom Barrett | Jul 10, 2018 | Opioid Crisis
Mady Ohlman stood in a friend’s bathroom looking down at the sink, where she had set up numerous needles filled with heroin. She intended to inject them all. After the first few, she collapsed and lay drugged-out on the floor. The 22-year-old addict later...
