Forty-eight-year-old Thamar Smith of Hagerstown, in Washington County, Maryland, pleaded guilty to federal drug charges last week, the latest in a long line of American men who have contributed to the spread of heroin and fentanyl during an epidemic of opioid abuse that represents the tragic extent of despair across the land.
The sale and use of opioids, once concentrated in cities like Baltimore, increased significantly in suburban and rural areas like Hagerstown several years ago. And the use of fentanyl has caused a level of misery and death not seen before.
In February alone, the Washington County Health Department reported 41 overdoses and 11 fatalities from illegal drugs. Eight of the deaths occurred within two weeks, suggesting that a powerful level of fentanyl was in a narcotic mix sold to several people. That kind of thing has happened frequently in recent years — and the recent years have been brutal when it comes to overdoses.
