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High Schools Get Frank With Teens on Heroin Epidemic
Original article from U.S. News While heroin use among high schoolers has declined to historical lows, use of the drug among young adults ages 18 to 25 has more than doubled since 2002, according to federal data. But some high schools are taking proactive measures to educate teens on the dangers of heroin and prescription opioid painkillers, since 45 percent of heroin users are also addicted to the latter, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "All of our students have a story of somebody in their family who is an addict or a friend of a family [...]
Gov. John Kasich signs opioid abuse prevention bill
Original article from Cleveland.com COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Gov. John Kasich on Wednesday signed a bill tightening restrictions on prescription opioids and making addiction treatment easier to obtain. Kasich praised the law as the next step in his administration's efforts against a nationwide opioid abuse epidemic where Ohio leads the nation in overdose deaths. The new law -- one of 28 Kasich signed Wednesday -- contains no new funding, a lack Democrats objected to before voting in favor of the bill. Kasich said that the state spent $1 billion fighting drug abuse and addiction in the past year, and those efforts aren't helpful [...]
As opioid epidemic worsens, the cost of waking up from an overdose soars
Original article and images from www.cnbc.com. Taylor Kay was driving on Interstate 290, heading east near Chicago, when a car veered across lanes of traffic into the highway median. "I thought, 'Something is wrong,'" the 26-year-old said. "So I get out of my car, and I see he's overdosing, with a needle still in his arm." Kay recognized what was happening to the driver because it could have happened to her. She had used heroin for six years, until she was 24, and she herself has overdosed. She knew what to do. "I go to my car and I get [...]
Cuyahoga Co. heroin, fentanyl deaths soar in 2016: a statistical snapshot
Original article from Cleveland.com By Evan MacDonald, cleveland.com on December 30, 2016 at 6:30 AM CLEVELAND, Ohio - Heroin and fentanyl continued to claim the lives of Cuyahoga County residents at a breathtaking pace in 2016. The medical examiner's office has attributed more than 500 deaths this year to drug overdoses, with opioids claiming the lion's share. And the final numbers will likely be worse. There are several deaths suspected to involve opioids still awaiting laboratory analysis, and the numbers released this week don't account for all of December. "In early 2017, the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office will issue [...]