A McDonald's restaurant in Middletown, Ohio has taken action against using and overdosing on drugs in its restrooms.
Employees of the fast food place now carry remote control buttons to permit people to enter the facilities there, reports the Journal-News in Butler County, Ohio. And the entrance door closest to the restrooms is marked "exit only" now.
There have been at least 10 drug complaints and 5 overdoses in the first eight months of 2017 at the McDonald's that has added the extra safety guard, the Journal-News reported.
Nationally, the opioid crisis has not officially been declared an emergency, though many are calling for President Donald Trump to take such an action. He has said he does consider it an emergency.
A national emergency requires a formal declaration, and then extra powers are authorized to the President and potentially others with leadership over the crisis. Trump officials say the opioid declaration is currently under legal review.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse says that as of June, more than 90 Americans overdose and die every day due to opioid use. It is a burden costing the United States an estimated $78 billion annually.
About 21 to 29 percent of patients who are prescribed opioids for chronic pain misuse or abuse them, NIDA reports.
