OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - According to experts, Nebraska is losing out on millions of dollars because overdose deaths go unreported.
The sad truth is that those dollars -- money not coming into the state -- could actually be used to prevent overdoses.
A reporter from the Flatwater Free Press has been digging deeper into the story -- on why getting the real numbers affects us all.
“We’ve got to start treating addiction as a public health crisis in Nebraska,” said Paul Weishapl.
Weishapl knows the odds as a part of the UNMC Nebraska Harm Reduction Program.
“I didn’t choose to be a heroin addict at the age of 18. I got hurt playing soccer and started taking hydrocodone. I was lucky to make it out. I had seven overdoses of my own.”
Many of his friends didn’t make it.
Something wasn’t addin