Actually, Herbs, Opioid addiction is one of the worst social ills I've seen around here. Last year there were more opioid overdose deaths than by gunshots and car wrecks combined! It's hitting every socioeconomic group, every age, gender, ... whatever. Mostly it starts by taking the drugs prescribed by a doc. We're talking vicodin, oxycontin, hydrocodone, etc. They mess with your brain. If you get caught you gradually devolve to heroin because it's so cheap. Now, Herbs, this ain't the Sid Vicious kind of heroin you know. You can ingest in all manner of ways. Gotten from a supplier you don't know what you're getting. Lots of times it's laced with fentanyl which gives you a much higher high at the start, although short lasting.

All of our local cops carry narcan, which can stop the overdose. We're having community meetings about it, etc. Several high school kids have died in the last year or so. You get your knee banged up playing football, the doc prescribes an opioid... and you get hooked. You feel ashamed so you sneak around to feed your high. Parents are putting locks on their medicine cabinets in case one of their kids' friends gets in there.

Naturally the demand has led to pill mills and the pharma companies gladly provide. It's bad.