The death last Sunday of Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman at age 46 focused media attention on the nationwide surge in heroin use and overdoses. But the very real heroin epidemic is framed by an even more dramatic increase since the beginning of the century in overdoses from pharmaceutical drugs known as opioids. These are, in effect, tandem epidemics — an addiction crisis driven by the powerful effects on the human brain of drugs derived from morphine. (Patterson Clark / The Washington Post/Source: CDC) More stories on heroin NYC coroner: Hoffman autopsy inconclusive Joel Achenbach Further tests are pending to determine the precise cause of actor Philip Seymour...
↧