Monday, April 28, 2014

Deadly addiction: Heroin use, a tragic wrong turn for prescription drug abusers, on the rise in region

The Day, April 27, 2014

"Just 10 years ago, heroin made up a small fraction of the drug-related arrests in Norwich. These days, Detective Lt. Mark Rankowitz and fellow officers can recite any number of stories about the drug's ever-increasing impact.

There is the star high school athlete with national aspirations who injured her knee and became addicted to prescription painkillers before turning to the cheaper and more widely available alternative - heroin.

There was the man back in March who apparently drifted into unconsciousness before his car plowed into a parked box truck and a stair rail at St. Mary's Church on Central Avenue. Paramedics administered a dose of Narcan, a drug that reverses the effects of opiates like heroin. The man was asking for his keys moments later.

Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services Commissioner Patricia Rehmer said this spring that on average one Connecticut resident a day dies of a drug overdose, which also is the leading cause of death for males ages 18 to 25." Read more

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