A Generation of Drug-Addiction Survivors Is Entering Old Age

December 2, 2024

a close up of a syringe with liquid

(Wall Street Journal) – America’s drug crisis has many survivors. Jerry Schlesinger, 72, is among the longest tenured. He tried heroin at 15. Today, he has been sober for two years. In between, decades of illicit drug use wrecked his lungs and teeth and compromised his liver. America spent millions of dollars imprisoning, housing and treating him before he stopped using.

“You’re not done until you’re done,” Schlesinger said.

His is a living history of a drug crisis that has left millions of people in poor health and searching for purpose. The most senior are entering old age. Their struggles show how the damage wrought by addiction will linger long after the death toll drops. (Read More)