Back in January 2016 we printed a small article in this section that garnered a lot of attention. “A Prescription for Trouble” brought to light an unfavorable superlative in our community — the highest amount of alcohol and overdose deaths among teens per capita — and noted a slew of overdoses that had recently landed five teens in the hospital. Also mentioned were the mitigation efforts of local groups like RxSafe Marin and the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services. Drug overdose is still the leading cause of accidental death in Marin, with prescription drugs being the biggest culprit, but things are looking up for the county. The numbers for opioid prescriptions and overdose deaths are significantly declining, and in April 2017, Marin HHS and RxSafe Marin had a hand in making naloxone, a medication that reverses an opioid overdose, more available countywide. Additionally, RxSafe Marin has started holding quarterly community forums on topics related to prescription drug misuse and abuse. The March session focuses on “Healthy Pain Management” and will cover topics like understanding pain, non-opioid alternatives to treatment for pain, and navigating your options for treating pain.
Kasia Pawlowska loves words. A native of Poland, Kasia moved to the States when she was seven. The San Francisco State University creative writing graduate went on to write for publications like the San Francisco Bay Guardian and KQED Arts among others prior to joining the Marin Magazine staff. Topics Kasia has covered include travel, trends, mushroom hunting, an award-winning series on social media addiction and loads of other random things. When she’s not busy blogging or researching and writing articles, she’s either at home writing postcards and reading or going to shows. Recently, Kasia has been trying to branch out and diversify, ie: use different emojis. Her quest for the perfect chip is never-ending.
