How the Opioid Epidemic Changed My Life

June 18, 2025

trash laying on the ground; used syringes

(Plough) – Tom Andrew started out as a pediatrician but became a forensic pathologist, initially serving the City of New York before being appointed Chief Medical Examiner for the State of New Hampshire. When he had been serving in this role for fifteen years, the opioid epidemic exploded in New England. Overwhelmed and disturbed by the increasing number of young bodies that showed up in his morgue, he began to consider the root causes of substance abuse and ended up going to seminary. He is now working with young people again, this time as a chaplain for the Daniel Webster Council of Scouting America. Reuben Zimmerman interviewed him for Plough about what he’s seen. (Read More)