Friday, December 5, 2014

Final Story Pitch

As heroin makes a national and state resurgence and opiate abuse continues to be an issue, small, rural towns like Pullman are ill-equipped to deal with local addiction problems. The national influx of opioid painkillers and medications in the last decade has caused many people to develop addictions, which in turns sends them to the street to look for cheaper options like heroin. Pullman is without any local inpatient rehab facility and has only a limited number of outpatient facilities. Palouse Recovery Center, one of the few, has seen a significant increase in opiate abusers in the last few years. My story will examine the trends and the difficulties preventing, policing and treating heroin and opiate issues in small towns like Pullman.

Why now: Rural communities across the country are seeing growing problems with heroin abuse, and many are turning to federal help to deal with the issue.

Format: Feature, 750 words

Sources: Palouse Recovery Center (interviewed), Palouse River Counseling (interviewed), Quad City Drug Task Force, Dr. Pete Mikkelsen: Medical Director of the Emergency Department at Pullman Regional, Pullman Police Chief Gary Jenkins, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Washington State Department of Social and Health Services






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