Rick Van Warner is a thirty-year veteran of journalism, crisis management, and media relations. His book, On Pills and Needles, is a result of his feeling compelled to share his personal story to help other families after recognizing the endemic nature of the current opioid addiction epidemic. A graduate of Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, he began his career as a daily newspaper reporter. He also volunteered as a social worker within the New York State youth-justice division, where he counseled teens confined to group homes after committing serious crimes.
When Rick Van Warner found himself searching abandoned buildings and dangerous streets looking for his missing son, he had no idea that the synthetic, pill-form heroin that had snared his teen was already killing so many. In the years of pain and heartach... SEE MORE