I spent the morning writing my Column for Sunday. This was a tough one. A recent Washington Post article gave statistics on opioids. It was eye-opening for some.
The numbers were dated, but from 2006 to 2012, pharmacies in the county where I live distributed the equivalent of 140 pills for per person in the county. Most of these pills filtered through a handful of pharmacies.
During that time, it was not uncommon to read the obits in the daily paper that someone died in their residence. Had the person that died been elderly that would be understandable, but when they are 22 years old, that's a different story. It's almost always a code phrase for accidental overdose. I don't know how many people died as a result of opioid addiction.
My column was about my baby brother. He died of liver failure, but his decline started when he hurt his back when he slipped on an icy sidewalk.
Needless to say, the column while I'll post next Monday evening is not a happy one, but it's something I needed to say.
On a happier note, I saw another harbinger of autumn on our morning walk.
The numbers were dated, but from 2006 to 2012, pharmacies in the county where I live distributed the equivalent of 140 pills for per person in the county. Most of these pills filtered through a handful of pharmacies.
During that time, it was not uncommon to read the obits in the daily paper that someone died in their residence. Had the person that died been elderly that would be understandable, but when they are 22 years old, that's a different story. It's almost always a code phrase for accidental overdose. I don't know how many people died as a result of opioid addiction.
My column was about my baby brother. He died of liver failure, but his decline started when he hurt his back when he slipped on an icy sidewalk.
Needless to say, the column while I'll post next Monday evening is not a happy one, but it's something I needed to say.
On a happier note, I saw another harbinger of autumn on our morning walk.
