Start Talking About Drug Abuse

Start Talking is the name of the new state campaign to address the heroin epidemic in Ohio.  Tracy Plouck, Director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services explains how the initiative focuses on prevention.

Heroin: Today's Recreational Drug of Choice

The number of deaths caused by heroin has quadrupled over the past few years.  Bill Denihan, CEO of the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board of Cuyahoga County has all the disturbing details.

Doc Sees A New DAWN (Deaths Avoided With Naloxone)

There is a drug that will bring heroin addicts back to life if they overdose.  Dr. Christina Delos-Reyes supports giving naloxone to non-medical professionals...namely, the family and friends of addicts, so that it is readily available.  She says it will save lives. Project DAWN (Deaths Avoided With Naloxone) has succeeded in convincing state lawmakers to approve the plan.

Dr. Delos-Reyes,  Program Director of the Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship at University Hospitals Case Medical Center, says five people in Ohio die every day from an opiate overdose.  And during this interview, she offers an argument that bucks the growing trend toward legalizing marijuana.