TL;DR 5 Sentence Summary - How Reddit Helped Opioid Addicts

Reddit is a modern-day canary in the coal mine for the people of Appalachia - a region of the United States being disproportionately affected by the opioid epidemic.

Since the presidential election, a Reddit forum called r/opiates has transformed into a lifesaving map for addicts navigating a minefield frequently filled with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid nearly 100 times more potent than morphine.

While the overdose warnings on Reddit may be a new trend, addicts have been no strangers to information sharing, said Dr Michael Brumage, executive director of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department in West Virginia.

These fentanyl warnings are reaching more opioid users on Reddit than ever before.

For many of these addicts, r/opiates has become a life preserver in a worsening storm.

Source: The Guardian