Macon Magazine

DECEMBER/JANUARY 2023 | maconmagazine.com 55 MOVING FORWARD, REDUCING OPIOID ADDICTION BY CLARENCE W. THOMAS JR. PHOTOGRAPHY BY DSTO MOORE One of the most difficult habits to kick to the curb is drug use, especially opioid addiction. Central Georgia is not immune to this epidemic. But hope is here. Between a host of committed mid-state places of recovery and former drug users speaking out, many affected by addiction can move forward again. THE DANGERS OF OPIOID ADDICTION The Mayo Clinic defines opioids as a broad group of pain-relieving drugs that interact with opioid receptors in our cells. They can be made from the poppy plant, like morphine, or synthesized in a laboratory, such as fentanyl. Other opioids include oxycodone, hydrocodone, and methadone, better known as meth. At lower doses, opioids may make you feel sleepy, but higher doses can slow down your breathing and heart rate, leading to death. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, since 1999, more than 760,000 people have died from an opioid overdose, with two out of three deaths in 2018 involving the drugs. In 2019, an estimated 10.1 million people age 12 and older misused opioids over the course of the previous year. Of that, 9.7 million were prescription pain relievers. North Central Health District, which oversees health activities in 13 counties, including Macon-Bibb, keeps up with opioid usage and combats its misuse and the results of going too far for too long through Marissa Cody, the district's overdose surveillance and planning specialist. She bridges the gap between her health district, law enforcement, and agencies like Atrium Health, Piedmont Medical, and Riveredge through the provision of opioid-related data. Cody is a passionate advocate for the eradication of opioid addiction partly because she's in long-term recovery herself and has been sober for the past nine years. "It's very important to have someone here doing this work because the opioid crisis is so big and so real. I think it's paramount to partner with those working inside to offset this epidemic," Cody said. According to Cody, in 2021, 107,622 overdose deaths occurred nationally, with

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