Combating the opioid epidemic in the Philadelphia region

Guests: Liz Evans, Priya Mammen, Devin Reaves

Prescription painkillers and heroin are killing hundreds of people each year in our region. Last year, over 900 people died of overdoses in Philadelphia alone. As opioid abuse continues to plague the country, Philadelphia and neighboring communities are searching for ways to fight this epidemic. We start off this hour discussing a controversial idea proposed for Philadelphia to reduce overdose fatalities, safe-injection sites, places where people can inject drugs under supervision. Guest host Mary Cummings-Jordan talks with LIZ EVANS, founder of InSite, the first supervised-injection site in North America. Then, PRIYA MAMMEN, professor of emergency medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, and DEVIN REAVES, a recovery advocate and social worker, discuss the causes and costs of opioid abuse and possible ways to combat it.