Missouri's fentanyl crisis is worsening, but patients can't get treatment for substance abuse
High school sophomore Ethan Everly died of an overdose last week in Kansas City after taking a pill laced with the potent and dangerous opioid fentanyl.
Everly's death is only the latest warning that the drug epidemic is spreading quickly in Missouri.
A decade ago, the state's opioid crisis was fueled by prescription pills, and largely affected rural, mostly-white communities. But in the last five years, the crisis entered a new phase — one dominated by fentanyl, and focused in urban areas.
When it hit St. Louis, Morris Lockett saw the change first-hand. Lockett used drugs for most of his life, and ended up spending 17 years in prison. When he returned home in 2019, he found the scene had transformed.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/health-science-environment/2022-04-05/missouris-fentanyl-crisis-is-worsening-but-patients-cant-get-treatment-for-substance-abuse