The latest statewide numbers show a slight drop in fatal overdoses, but deaths are still being driven by opioids--not heroin but fentanyl, a highly potent synthetic opioid often laced into heroin.
WYPR reporter Mary Rose Madden looks at how Baltimore is grappling with the opioid epidemic in her series, “In the Hole”. Listen to her reporting here.
And addiction medicine specialist Dr. Yngvild Olsen describes how medication can help someone get off illicit drugs. She is co-author of "The Opioid Epidemic: What Everyone Needs to Know".