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I n Staten Island, New York, an epidemic that hardly existed 10 years ago killed more than 100 people in 2016. In McDowell County, West Virginia, 97 deaths last year alone plagued a population of less than 20,000. Dallas, Texas, recently unleashed a new weapon—a “strike force” of nine agencies, united to attack illegal suppliers that doubled the death rate among 12- to 25-year-olds. In the small-town communities of Iowa, the number of patients enrolled in treatment programs has quadrupled since 2005. Ī COVER FOCUS: Opioid Epidemic 6 WWW.AGRM.ORG JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 by Helen T. Goody IN THE SHADOWS A glimpse into the dark world of opioid addiction