Opioid addiction and Philadelphia: Where are we headed?

The overdose crisis is killing Philadelphians at a pace that’s more than twice the murder rate. The 1,214 people who died of drug overdoses, mostly involving opioids, made Philadelphia one of the nation’s deadliest major metro areas in 2020. And the crisis is expected to keep growing, with the local drug supply increasingly flooded with dangerous additives like fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid driving an explosion of deaths, and xylazine, a horse tranquilizer that’s causing severe lesions and agonizing withdrawals.

Join us for an in-depth conversation with Inquirer reporter Aubrey Whelan, who covers addiction and the opioid crisis, and health editor Letitia Stein as they discuss the latest numbers in the opioid crisis and challenges to treatment in Philadelphia, including Whelan’s recent reporting on internal problems at the region’s non-profit leader in efforts to reduce harm from addiction.

>> READ MORE: Struggling with an addiction, or know someone who is? Here are ways to get help.