A record 2,000 Cook County residents died of opioid-related overdoses last year, according to the CookCountyME. That number has consistently risen each year. Tune into 'Chicago Tonight' at 5:30/10 p.m. as we examine what’s behind the troubling trend.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office just reported that a record 2,000 Cook County residents died of opioid-related overdoses last year.That number has consistently gone up every year. WTTW News sought to find out what’s behind the troubling trend and found the drugs are more diverse, more available and more lethal than ever.“Fentanyl blankets your emotions,” Kolodziejczyk said. “It comforts them. It just masks them.
“I was panhandling, selling drugs, prostituting,” Jackson said. “You do whatever you have to. When the drug said come, you go.” Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid often used for cancer patients. It has gradually taken over the drug market. “It’s weed, ecstasy, crack cocaine, meth,” Kolodziejczyk said. “I don’t think there are any drugs not laced with fentanyl anymore.”
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