Jerry Schlesinger, 72, of Los Angeles tried heroin at 15. Today, he has been sober for two years. In between, decades of illicit drug use wrecked his lungs and teeth and compromised his liver. The nation spent millions of dollars imprisoning, housing and treating him before he stopped using. His is a living history of a drug crisis that has left millions of people in poor health reports the Wall Street Journal. The most senior are entering old age. Their struggles show how the damage wrought by addiction will linger long after the death toll drops.
Drug-overdose deaths have fallen below 100,000 annually for the first time since 2021. Some of the 15% drop in annual deaths could be because hardened users are outlasting novices who succumbed in great numbers as fentanyl infiltrated the illicit drug supply.
China this year shut down some sellers of the chemicals used to make fentanyl, and President-elect Trump says he will use tariffs against Mexico and China to disrupt the illicit drug trade. Better access to treatments for hepatitis, addiction and overdoses keeps people alive longer than in the past. More than two million people over 65 are addicted to drugs, a more than 10-fold increase in a decade. About three-fourths of people addicted to drugs recover, a federal study showed in 2023. Younger people recovering from drug addiction are often encouraged to start fresh in a new place with new people. Schlesinger is past the age where he wants to start over. He won’t move to a new city to avoid people and places that fueled his addiction. He is taking leadership roles in the recovery community. Usually, it takes years of sobriety before people feel ready to mentor others struggling with addiction. Schlesinger feels he doesn’t have time to spare. Several nights a week, he brings a carload of guys from the sober-living home where he works as a manager to an addiction-recovery meeting. Seniors with a history of drug use have grown from a rarity to more than 5% of patients at Healthright 360, which provides healthcare to homeless and low-income people in Los Angeles.
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