Here are five things to know about tonight’s community forum, “Moving the Needle.”
Speaker: Dr. Kendall Stewart, psychiatrist from Portsmouth, Ohio. Due to a medical emergency, author and journalist Sam Quinones is unable to attend the session in person talking about his book, “Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic,” but a video of his presentation will be shown.
Purpose of the book: “Dreamland” was written for families affected by heroin overdoses who wanted to know why their loved one died, the author said. The book chronicles the struggles of Portsmouth and how it dug its way out of the epidemic of overdoses and addiction.
Purpose of the meeting: So local residents can learn how heroin addiction is affecting communities across the nation — including Columbus.
Opiates/opioids: Opiates, derived from the poppy plant, include heroin, morphine and thebaine; opioids, drugs used to relieve pain, include Vicodin, Percoset and Oxycontin.
When/where: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. today at The Commons; free and open to the public.
