Erie County Officials Address Opiate Addiction + Laura’s Personal Story [VIDEO]

This morning when I got to work around 4:45am, I did what I always do when I turn on the computer:  opened my Facebook page.

I didn't expect to see the face of my 34-year-old ex, Ron...let alone, in an obituary.

Ron and I dated back in 2002...and he was into some serious partying then.  I ran into him about 3 or 4 years ago, in Albany, and he was so happy to be clean and sober, and beamed about his then-3-year-old son.  He showed me pictures on his cell, and we recanted some memories.

Seeing his obituary this morning really hit close to home. I reached out to some mutual friends and found that a few years ago, after he had cleaned up, he was prescribed painkillers after an accident, which led to relapse and continued drug use.  He had just been released from jail for robbery the day before he was found dead in his parent's home early this week...a death from an apparent drug overdose.

Unfortunately, more times than not, it hits home when you least expect it, and WHERE you least expect it.

Erie County was just awarded a $64,000 grant from the Tower Foundation to address the opiate addiction problem.  And area doctors have a renewed commitment to combating the over-prescribing of opiates, specifically noting the overwhelming persistance of OxyContin.