Tens of thousands of Americans die each year from opioid overdoses

THE GIRL looks like a typical teenager sitting on the bench of a fire station in Manchester, New Hampshire. But she is not. Just 19 years old, with acne still marking her face, she is here seeking help for opioid addiction. Already she has been hooked for four years. At 15 she started with Percocet, a prescription drug. Now homeless, these days she uses fentanyl, a cheap, synthetic opioid. After checking herself out of treatment two weeks ago, she went on a meth- and fentanyl-fuelled bender.

Soon a taxi arrives. It will deposit her at Granite Pathways, the treatment centre she left two weeks ago. She gathers up her few possessions, which are neatly lined up on the concrete floor. The firefighters wish her well as she climbs into the taxi, encouraging her to stick with her recovery this time. She promises to try but, once she has gone, they do not sound hopeful. They have seen this story too many times before.