Fentanyl, a stealth killer
Opiate addiction is a serious problem that affects people from all walks of life.   My mother has had rheumatoid arthritis for decades.  She was prescribed Fentanyl patches for the pain at one point, but the strength was too high.  One day she wound up passing out in her kitchen after applying a patch.  After that she stuck the patches in a drawer, intending for them to never to be used again.<p>She was fine after this incident, but my sister happened to mention the story to an acquaintance of my mother&#x27;s from church.  Upon learning that there was a box of unused Fentanyl patches in my mother&#x27;s house, she suddenly became her best friend and volunteered to begin taking her to doctor&#x27;s appointments.  She would take her to doctor&#x27;s appointments, then while my mother was there, would go back to my mother&#x27;s house to &quot;clean up&quot; - do dishes, vacuum etc.  This wasn&#x27;t a mere act of charity; she also &quot;cleaned up&quot; not only the patches, but a significant percentage of my mom&#x27;s other opioid pain medications.<p>At first my mother thought she was going crazy when pills began going missing.  She finally told me about it, and while I was inclined to believe that she was simply starting to lose her mental acuity, I bought her a lockbox for her pills.  It was only after this woman (an upper middle class mother of three young children) brought tools with her during a visit and actually destroyed the electronic lock on the box that I realized that her trusted &quot;friend&quot; from church was stealing her pain medications.  When my mother told one of the leaders of her church what happened, the woman denied it, and three weeks later moved her entire family several states away.<p>You really can&#x27;t make this stuff up.  Addicts come in all shapes and sizes and will do anything to quench their addiction.