Although the story referenced below discusses the way that Pennsylvania found itself dealing with a very real and deadly opioid problem, it might still feel familiar to those living anywhere else in the nation. This drug and other opioids have caused problems all over the entire country, and many of the addictions and drug abuse that are rooted in opioids have tragic stories that start with people starting their usage at the recommendation of their doctors.
However, more and more, people are finding that their “normal” street drugs are also being cut with this super powerful opioid. Because of that and a variety of other issues (like doctors prescribing opioids at what is arguably irresponsible rates), opioid-related overdoses and crime don’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.
The first time Nicki Saccomanno used fentanyl, she overdosed.
It was 2016, and the 38-year-old from Kensington hadn’t known that the drugs she’d bought had been cut with the deadly synthetic opioid. She just remembers injecting herself with a bag, and then waking up surrounded by paramedics frantically trying to revive her.
Saccomanno, who has been addicted to heroin for 10 years, was shaken. But, before long, there was barely anything else to take but fentanyl to stave off the intense pain of withdrawal. Every corner, it seemed, was selling it. Saccomanno and other longtime heroin users found themselves forced to adapt. Click Here to Continue Reading