Angel’s house: Recovery residences support women’s sobriety

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland—Angel Traynor, who once struggled with opioid addiction, now runs five recovery homes for women in Anne Arundel County. Jenn Twiford is in recovery, living in one of Angel’s houses.

Blindsided: Annapolis police detective loses son to heroin

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland—John Lee policed the streets of Annapolis for more than two decades as a detective. With years of experience under his belt, he was shocked when he and his wife discovered their son Patrick was afflicted by heroin addiction. The dependency disorder would eventually claim his life, leaving his parents and community devastated.

A chief’s promise: Police encourage addicts to get help with disease

MILLERSVILLE, Maryland—Anne Arundel County Police believe that incarcerating people addicted to opioids is not a solution to the epidemic. Police Chief Timothy Altomare views addiction as a disease, and his department is encouraging addicts to get into treatment.

‘Tale of two cities’: Heroin afflicts black, white communities

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland—Heroin has been a national epidemic for decades, but as it spreads into the white community, the problem garners attention in ways never seen before. Heroin abuse has afflicted the Clay Street neighborhood in Annapolis since the ’70s.

Flicker of remembrance: Vigil honors those lost to addiction

GLEN BURNIE, Maryland—A growing number of people are survivors of the opioid epidemic, carrying on after losing a loved one to addiction. Aleta Daley’s son, Sean, is a victim of the crisis. She found understanding and empathy among people who share her experience at a candlelight vigil to commemorate those afflicted by the nationwide epidemic.

Opioid and heroin overdoses have reached ‘crisis level’ in Maryland

WASHINGTON – When Carin Miller’s son was about 19 years old, he began to abuse heroin by snorting pills, eventually moving on to shooting up. This went on for six years before he got help. Lucas Miller’s history of drug…

Illicit-drug use OK in ‘safe’ site under Maryland bill

By HANNAH KLARNER Capital News Service   ANNAPOLIS, Maryland — Illegal-drug users in Maryland could partake in recreational use under a bill that would create legal, sanitary illicit-drug use facilities in the state.   The bill, proposed by Delegate Dan…

Maryland’s heroin and opioid crisis reaches an all-time high

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland — Barbara Allen signs her emails with the names of her family members she has lost to addiction. Jim’s mom, Bill’s sister, Amanda’s aunt. Her son, Jim, died from a heroin and alcohol overdose in 2003 after battling…

Coming to terms: losing the one you love to opioid overdose

For Arielle Sokoll-Ward, losing her boyfriend Drew Weston to a heroin overdose taught her a lot about life. She planned to spend her life with him – but now she must cope with a future without him.

Tri-county opioid summit educates the community about the most addictive drug

The deadly consequences of the opioid epidemic in Maryland are on the rise. State legislators, health care workers and law enforcement officials held a summit sponsored by Anne Arundel, Harford and Howard county executives to educate the community about the dangers of opioid addiction.