Drug injection fades as smoking grows more common, marking sea change in U.S. fentanyl epidemic

Drug injection fades as smoking grows more common, marking sea change in U.S. fentanyl epidemic

ROCHESTER, N.H. — Megan Merrill paused, mid-hike, as she surveyed the steep drop before her. She was standing on a five-foot snow drift, icy and brittle after 10 days of unrelenting New England cold, below which lay the railroad tracks that serve as a de facto border between the town behind her and the homeless encampment in front.  She took the downward slope at a gallop, using her oversized backpack as a counterweight. The bag was made heavy w…