GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Experts say that West Michigan, like the rest of the nation, is in the midst of an opioid epidemic.
The epidemic often shows itself in heroin use, but addiction frequently starts with opioid prescription painkillers.
“A lot of people who are overdosing, they might not know that they are at risk for an overdose,” Brandon Hool, an overdose prevention and response specialist, explained to 24 Hour News 8. “They’re taking something that their doctor gave them. They are taking something the doctor maybe gave someone else, but they found out it works for them.”
Hool says most people who overdose are on prescription medication. He said that according to the Michigan Automated Prescription System, about 50 percent of the people who overdose in Michigan filled an opioid prescription in the previous 30 days.
Full story on WOODTV.com.