0
0
Opioids now kill more people in Cook County than gun violence or traffic crashes, according to the sheriff's office. Overdose deaths last year were up 83 percent over two years, with about one in five people currently held in Cook County jail reporting opioid abuse.
In the past four years, one 24-year-old man has overdosed 14 times. He said he started using opioids when a doctor prescribed him painkillers for a weightlifting injury.
In May, he was discovered unresponsive on the floor of the bathroom at the Skokie Courthouse. The incident was captured on bodycam (see below) and widely-shared after being released by authorities.