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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