Opioid epidemic sweeps state, families raise awareness

ATLANTA - It's a drug that knows no boundaries, it doesn't discriminate either. Opioids have claimed the lives of so many in the state.

Friday families affected by the epidemic, elected officials, and other members of the community came together in Atlanta to discuss the crisis.

"This isn't going to rely solely on the government," Gwinnett County Judge Kathryn Schrader said. "It's going to be a long, patient, intentional battle...we are all going to have to come together."

Schrader talked in front of many families sharing her concerns.

"I see kids come through the system who are battling substance abuse," Schrader said. "They get out and have nowhere to go. We have to change that."

State Senator Renee Unterman also shared her concerns.

"My goal is to have more money appropriated in the 2018 Legislative Session to go to fighting the epidemic," Unterman said.

Families brought photos of the loved ones they've lost to drug overdoses.

Lisa Manning and Kathi Abraham lost their sons, 18-year-old Dustin Manning and 19-year-old Joseph Abraham back on May 26.

"We both found them dead in their rooms about an hour apart," Manning said.

The teens lived in the same neighborhood and were on the same little league team.

"Addiction doesn't discriminate," Abraham said.