Lost
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PublishedApril 1, 2017
Community in crisis: Battle against opioids rages in beaten-down Sanford
Its economic strife and its proximity to the Massachusetts drug trade put the York County city in the cross hairs of the crisis. But forces within Sanford are stepping up and fighting back.
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PublishedMarch 31, 2017
Fragile recovery: Shannon Long’s story illustrates how difficult sobriety can be
The up-and-down journey, marked by the ever-present risk and reality of relapse, means opioid addicts who want to quit – like this 24-year-old mother from western Maine – face a grueling, sometimes lifelong battle.
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PublishedMarch 30, 2017
Treatment dilemma: No consensus on cure as demand for it explodes
In addition to woefully inadequate treatment resources to meet exploding demand in Maine, there is tension, too, among providers and policymakers over the best way to beat an opioid addiction.
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PublishedMarch 29, 2017
When kids lose a parent to addiction, tell the truth
The rising death toll means more children than ever are confronted by unthinkable loss. When the questions come, experts say, keep it simple and be honest.
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PublishedMarch 29, 2017
The children left behind: As one generation dies, the next one’s in trouble
When children lose parents, the onus falls upon other resources – aging grandparents and the state’s child welfare system – to care for the youngest victims of Maine’s heroin crisis.
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PublishedMarch 28, 2017
Disease or bad behavior: Does addiction call for compassion or punishment?
Drugs with the power to disorient a user's moral compass create a fundamental split in how addicts are perceived, and the difference trickles into the public policy and resources meant to combat the crisis. Meanwhile, as the societal response wavers, people are dying.
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PublishedMarch 27, 2017
Families hit hard: For some caught in crisis, tragedies multiply
Because addiction is driven largely by genetic and environmental factors, overdoses can strike the same home twice, compounding the sense of grief and shame that is common among the epidemic's survivors.
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PublishedMarch 26, 2017
Resources for users who want to stop, and how others can help
Q: I want to learn more about addiction. Where can I go? A: The National Institute of Drug Abuse has extensive resources about the science of addiction. The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is a good tool for learning about different treatment options and what they entail. The Alliance for Addiction and […]
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PublishedMarch 26, 2017
Note from the editor: How the 10-part ‘Lost’ series came to be
As a devastating public health crisis tore through families and communities across the state, the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram set out to document the heroin epidemic’s impact. A team of reporters sought to understand the causes and consequences of the rapidly rising death toll by listening to firsthand accounts of survivors – the loved […]
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PublishedMarch 26, 2017
Opioids rewire – and take control of – the brain
From its initial use, heroin alters chemical processes in the nervous system and makes the agony of withdrawal an overwhelming deterrent to quitting.