KELOLAND News Special Report: Opioid Crisis

Introduction

This news report will share stories of individuals overwhelmed by addiction, shedding light on the deep grief families are enduring. It will also examine local efforts by doctors and law enforcement to address the opioid crisis, as well as the resources available at both the local and national levels. Viewers will learn about the support systems in place, how they can contribute to the fight, and the critical needs of the community in tackling this ongoing crisis.

Quotes

“We don’t know who it’s going to affect next. Drugs aren’t just for ‘poor people’. Drug addiction affects everyone, socioeconomics play no part in it.”

“It was soon pretty evident that the whole drug culture was pretty attractive to her and I was really concerned as a mom. It’s hard to know what to do. I really feel for everyone out there who has a child that has an addiction problem because you don’t know where to turn and there’s so much stigma surrounding this – it’s hard to even talk to other people about it.”

“If just one person hears me, if just one person does one thing to save a life, then I don’t care about a million naysayers or people who don’t understand. I just care about that one mother that I can stop from experiencing the pain that I have.”

“Fentanyl, I believe, is the most radical change in drug trafficking that we’ve ever seen in this country. What you’re seeing is that this is now the go-to additive – it’s a very, very cheap, extraordinarily potent, extremely profitable additive you can put in anything.”

“You don’t wake up in the morning saying, ‘Geeze I hope something happens to my child because I want to be an advocate for something,’ but it puts you in a spot where you’re left with nothing but that choice to make a difference so that your child didn’t die in vain. I never wanted to think that Ryan’s life did not matter.”

“I’ve set up a fund called ‘Emily’s Hope’ because I never gave up hope on my daughter. I want her life and her tragic death to at least give someone else hope.”

ANGELA KENNECKE

“Good Samaritan Laws are supposed to protect friends who are using together when something goes terribly wrong. South Dakota put one on the books in 2017, yet people continue to overdose and die because those around them are too afraid to call police.”

“My love for the drug was stronger than my fear of the needle. I would have done anything to get it; to keep that feeling, to keep everything just okay.”

“Drug Court has been combining supervision, treatment, counselling, and support since 2011 … there is a team made up of attorneys, law enforcement, treatment counsellors and more to help the people who come here.”

“If you’re not really ready to stop, none of these things are going to help anybody. You literally have to hate this with everything that you have, that’s the only way you’ll ever stop.”

“If he were to slip up – he might – that doesn’t mean that you’re a failure and you start over at day zero. You just get back up and continue walking.”

“The old model for addiction was always total abstinence. In this case, we’re not saying ‘use opioids’. We’re saying we need to use another medication to help that person deal with this so they can move on. Otherwise, it’s almost impossible for some people to get off of these on their own.”