Philip Seymour Hoffman's sad, shocking death from apparent heroin use brought back a comment made to me after a series I'd written for The Milwaukee Journal about illegal drug use in rural areas.
Back 20 years ago or more, media covered illegal drug use principally as an urban phenomenon, so I went out to small towns in western Dane County and found plenty to write about.
After the series had run, a doctor called and said, in effect:
'I wish reporters would stop using the phrase "drug overdose." It implies that there's a safe dose, which there isn't. Everyone's body reacts differently and there is no standardization of quality in street drugs, so any dose at any time to anyone can be fatal.'
His words stuck with me.
Apparently, there is something of an epidemic of heroin use here in Wisconsin, as well as other parts of the country. I was hoping the governor might say something on the subject in his State of the State address.
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