To some it’s "smack"; to others, it’s "tar." But the majority of us know it as heroin, the dangerously addictive opioid drug that has claimed countless lives across the nation.
Less than a week ago, 46-year-old actor Philip Seymour Hoffman died from a heroin overdose in his Manhattan apartment. Sadly, he’s just one of many creative minds lost to addiction. Singer-songwriter Janis Joplin was 27 when an overdose took her life. Frankie Lymon was 25.
But heroin isn’t just a celebrity drug. Its use spans the country -- particularly in northeast states, like Connecticut, where it has become a growing problem among teens and adults.
On our program, a panel of doctors help us understand the science of heroin addiction. What has caused the rising heroin epidemic? What treatment options are available to addicts?
GUESTS:
- Dr. Surita Rao? - Chairman and director of the Behavioral Health Department at St. Francis Hospital
- Dr. Melinda Campopiano? - Medical officer for the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment at the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration
- Dr. Suzanne Ducate? - Chief of medical staff at Hartford Dispensary
