In The Grip of Heroin: Finding Help

There are dozens of names for the substances known as synthetic marijuana/cannabinoids, like K2, Spice, or simply, Fake Weed. But in actuality, these drugs bear little resemblance to the marijuana most are familiar with and their impact can be devastating.

"Smoking K2 can lead to unpredictable and severe, or even life-threatening, effects," says Tiffinie Cobb, the substance abuse and injury prevention manager with the Milwaukee Health Department. 

Nic Sheff began using drugs at a young age and was able to conceal his use for much of his adolescence, until his addiction overtook his life. His father, David Sheff, decided to learn everything he could about addiction, as a way of healing himself and his son.

Recommendations from a Milwaukee city-county committee that's trying to reduce the opioid crisis were announced Friday during a meeting at Milwaukee City Hall.

The ideas come as the number of local opioid-related deaths is down a little this year but is still a sizable problem.

National Drug Take Back Day has passed, but you can still dispose of your old, unused medication whenever you want in Milwaukee County.

Advocates for ending the opioid crisis in Milwaukee County are ensuring people that they don’t have to solely rely on drug take back events once or twice a year to get rid of their unwanted medications.

Take Back My Meds MKE is the program making that possible.

A report out earlier this month showed a 30% increase in overdoses from opioid use around the country in just the last year.  In Wisconsin, the numbers are even more striking - the state led the nation with a 109% increase in overdoses reported by emergency rooms.

READ: Jump in Overdoses Shows Opioid Epidemic Has Worsened

Hannah Hetzer is the Senior International Policy Manager for the New York-based Drug Policy Alliance. She joins Lake Effect's Mitch Teich to talk about harm reduction drug policy, a philosophy on public health that focuses on fact-based drug education and intervention policies meant to reduce the injuries and illnesses associated with drug-use.

Hetzer was in Milwaukee to speak about the opioid crisis to UWM’s Institute of World Affairs.

In 2016, the National Institute of Health reported that five percent of high school seniors misuse prescription drugs. In 2016 alone, 827 people in Wisconsin died from prescription opioid overdoses – and another 371 died from heroin overdoses, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

There have been more than 300 drug-related deaths in Milwaukee County this year.

Dozens of people concerned about the opioid crisis gathered for a discussion about solutions at Marquette University.

Experts at the event say there are many factors that contribute to the growing epidemic. They say the problem isn’t going to go away, but there are tools being used to make significant progress.

If the opioid epidemic is a suburban problem, someone forgot to tell Gidget DeLaTorre, 51. She’s lost two close friends to overdoses in the past 10 months and her son sits in prison, after his life spun out of control due to an opioid addiction. All of them grew up on Milwaukee’s South Side.

Milwaukee County is taking some big steps in its effort to combat opioid addiction. The county has received grants totaling more than $2.5 million to help boost two programs that help people addicted to opiates get back on their feet.

Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele announced the new grants at the Juvenile Justice Center in Wauwatosa. He told the group that gathered that opioid addiction has reached epidemic proportions. Abele says the number of deaths is staggering, and it dwarfs just about anything else in history.

Milwaukee County is in the midst of an opioid crisis. City officials and medical professionals say the lack of available funds in Milwaukee County to address substance abuse can be a roadblock to creating effective treatment and education. 

On Thursday, President Donald Trump deemed the opioid crisis as a public health emergency and said that he plans to put a lot of time, effort and money into eliminating the crisis.