SEVEN DAYS OF HEROIN: THIS IS WHAT AN EPIDEMIC LOOKS LIKE

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Retweeted by David Fahrenthold: https://twitter.com/Fahrenthold

Stunning, essential work here by the Cincinnati Enquirer.

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SEVEN DAYS OF HEROIN
THIS IS WHAT AN EPIDEMIC LOOKS LIKE



This is normal now, a week like any other. But a terrible week is no less terrible because it is typical. When heroin and synthetic opiates kill one American every 16 minutes, there is little comfort in the routine.

There is only the struggle to endure and survive.

[mopinko]

1. what would this situation be if we had invested in treatment instead of prison?

i am a hospice volunteer and last weekend i had a family awaiting the death of a 37 yo addict. addicted since she was 15.
not an od- she had had 8 heart attacks, and contracted mrsa in the hospital. since there was no heroin there, she checked herself out against advice. the infection had eaten most of her organs.

one of the saddest cases i have seen. poor mom, who ended up raising her grandkids, and watched helplessly as her daughter committed slow motion suicide.

we really need to get a grip on this shit. we need faster acting meds for mental illnesses. this young lady was bipolar, but wouldnt take meds. we really need to be able to hit that nail on the head, and hit it a lot faster. months of trial and error just leave way too many slipping through the cracks.