Every State But Missouri Has An Opioid Database. Will That Change?

She struggles to hold back tears while describing how he became increasingly isolated. Mullane turned to prescription opioids to deal with depression. He eventually started stealing medications from friends and family members, and doctor-shopping for more.

“He went to this doctor for back ache, and then he went to this doctor for foot ache, and then he went to this doctor because he was depressed,” she says. “So he had all these doctors working against each other.”

In November of 2009, at the age of 21, Mullane died of a heroin overdose in a friend’s basement. Arbini says at the time, he had nine prescriptions from different doctors.