“I love you Dylann, even in the midst of the dark and pain you have caused, but more importantly, HE loves you,” wrote Marcus Stanley, a popular gospel singer who lives outside of Richmond, Virginia.
Stanley, 29, is familiar with being a victim. He was shot eight times during a robbery attempt in the streets of Baltimore in 2004. Surgeons reattached his colon, but had to remove half of his stomach and his pancreas. He lost his spleen and small intestine. Two bullets that were too dangerous to remove remain in place and left him partially paralyzed on his right side.
In his years of recovery, Stanley became addicted to painkillers and then opioids. “I became dependent upon prescription drugs. I couldn’t even get up and walk across the room,” he said.
Stanley’s story reflects a dangerous trend in American society. In 2013, about half a million people were using heroin, a 150 percent increase over the level in 2013.
“In addition, persons using heroin are abusing multiple other substances, especially cocaine and opioid pain relievers,” states a report released this summer by the centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The biggest offenders are Whites (predominately women) and Hispanics, the CDCP reports. Many got their start as innocent patients in hospitals or clinics while suffering from injuries or disease.
Just how many is hard to calculate.
