Sovereign Health Launches the First Editorial in a New Impactful Three-Part News Series on U-4

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., Jan. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Sovereign Health, a leading national provider of behavioral health treatment services, has launched a new three-part series, "Uncovering U-4." Also known as U-47700 or Pink, U-4 is an opioid analgesic drug, and experts warn the public not to be fooled by its easy accessibility. As a legal mail-order drug described as being more potent than morphine, it has been connected to dozens of deaths throughout the country.

The first article, "Uncovering U-4: O.C. local succumbs to opioid substance that's skimming through legal loopholes," focuses on the death of a young girl, Southern California resident Natasha Heim, who died from U-4. Although the patented compound U-4 is now on the Drug Enforcement Administration's radar as illegal for manufacturing and purchasing, slight variances of the substance are continuously surfacing and thus slipping through both international import cracks as well as medical toxicology screens – making drug enforcement, overdose fatalities and street purchases nearly impossible to trace.

U-4 is in the same family as fentanyl, but can easily and legally be bought online and shipped to a person's home. As a result, the drug is suspected of being connected to 80 deaths in the past nine months alone, and law enforcement officers worry that if more awareness is not raised about U-4's danger, this number will rise.

Sovereign Health cares about the issues and concerns of local residents about what goes on in their communities. You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube, and track the discussion by searching for hashtags #StopU4 and #SovTalk.

About the Authors

Dana Connolly, Ph.D., is a senior staff writer for Sovereign Health, where she translates current research into practical information.

Kristin Currin-Sheehan is a Sovereign Health staff writer, and her intriguing storytelling has been featured with Sovereign Health, KPBS TV/FM, FOX5 News in San Diego and NPR.

Wade Sandsis the content manager for Sovereign Health. Throughout his career, he's held court on a wide range of topics, from video games and real estate to addiction and behavioral health treatment.

About Sovereign Health

Sovereign Health's mission is to provide a broad spectrum of high-quality behavioral health treatment services for adults and adolescents, including support services for family members. One factor that differentiates Sovereign from other treatment providers has been the company's ability to offer separate mental health and addiction or dual diagnosis treatment programs at its facilities. For more information, visit www.SovHealth.com.

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SOURCE Sovereign Health