The growing problem of drug abuse

Dear Editor,

In 2016, I wrote about the growing drug problem in this newspaper. The main problem back then was methamphetamine. Examining the latest statistics, the rising use of opioids/fentanyl has broadened and increased the problem in our county.

Comprehensive drug misuse and abuse data is hard toacome by. For instance, if Mr. Jones has a knee operation and is given a prescription, his appropriate and legal use of the drug is recorded when the prescription is dispensed. Mr. Jones only takes half his pills and puts them in his medicine cabinet. If months later his wife twists her ankle badly and takes the rest, that misuse is not reported. Worse yet, if his daughter gets her hands on the pills, starts to take them, develops a habit and then buys heroin on the street, that drug abuse is not reported. If she ends up in prison or in a treatment center, or

You must be logged in to view this content.