Addiction in America: 'Make recovery more accessible than the illicit drug supply'

A California woman’s death at a methadone clinic parking lot in March 2024 is driving calls for changes to how opioid treatment is delivered. Sherry Lynn James, 77, had been opioid-free for years, but during a vacation she took one hit from an opiate “mystery bag” after returning to her Huntington Beach area. She was found not breathing; paramedics pronounced her dead at 1:11 p.m. Autopsy listed acute polydrug intoxication from fentanyl and ethanol. Her son, Lee, returned the next day for observed dosing despite harassment. His family argues the clinic area lacked security. A bipartisan Markey-Paul bill would have shifted dosing to doctors’ offices and neighborhood pharmacies.