By Paul Waldmiller
Did you know that Americans are dying at a record rate from opioid overdose including Fentanyl use? In 2017, a record 72,287 Americans overdosed on drugs and of that number, a whopping 49,000 Americans overdosed from opioid use including Fentanyl and sadly, the number of overdoses from Opioids continues to rise.
Americans who treat addiction as well as those in our health care industry were hopeful through education and use of medications such as Narcon (which helps to literally stop the side effects of an opioid overdose) would have slowed this epidemic, but all hopes were dashed with recent news of a Narcon and Naloxone resistant Fentanyl now out on the streets.
As with all chemical addictions, Opioid addiction does not discriminate against age, gender, skin color or status. Many American families have been decimated with news of lost loved-ones to the opioid crisis. Recently, a judge from North Carolina passed-away from an overdose of Fentanyl and Heroin. Make no mistake about it, using or even experimenting with drugs can and often do, have serious consequences. Death as the result of even a one-time use of Fenchyl or any opioid has become very real.
As a former internationally Credentialed Alcoholism & Substance Abuse Counselor, I want to give all my readers some free and sensible advice: If you are contemplating using drugs, any drugs at all, don’t start! Your very first use of drugs may very well cost you your life!