Suraj Krishna, a mechanical and aerospace engineer major, has been spending his weekend nights driving his peers around to ensure they won’t drink and drive.
Top 5 Addiction News Stories for the Week of September 1st, 2016
“I was the only person who kept my word when I said I drove all night, I drove for as long as people were texting or calling for rides,” Krishna told The Daily Campus. He’s been spending his weekends driving his peers at the University of Connecticut home from long nights of drinking and partying. Full story: Not All Heroes Wear Capes: Student sober driver helps peers stay safe [The Daily Campus]
An onslaught of overdoses shook the state of Cincinnati last week. It’s a state that usually sees on average 4 overdoses a day but over the span of 6 days, saw 174. They are believed to be linked to heroin that is laced with carfentanil, a drug used to sedate large animals like elephants and is 100 times stronger than fentanyl. Full story: 174 Heroin Overdoses in Six Days in Cincinnati [The Atlantic]
Between Tuesday and Saturday morning last week, Camden, New Jersey, 49 overdoses were reportedly linked to a strain of heroin called “Batman.” The lethal drug is still in testing to discover why it was causing so many overdoses. Full story: Everything you need to know about ‘Batman’ heroin causing overdoses [NJ.com]
Police in Gloucester, Mass. started an Angel Program which allows drug addicted people to get the help they need as opposed to getting arrested and thrown in jail. Amnesty programs like this have been successful in the past in both eliminating the stigma as well as helping people reach long-term recovery. Full story: Opioid Epidemic Moves Police To Help Rather Than Arrest Drug Users [NPR]
DEA arrested Robert Shields, a Cincinnati man believed to be linked to 12 overdoses in Kentucky as well as the 174 unprecedented overdoses that took place in his hometown. Full story: Feds Arrest One Heroin Dealer Connected to 180 Overdoses [The Daily Beast]
Image: The Daily Campus