It was fun. It made them feel good. It took away the pain.

Jim, Morgan, John, and Andrea never met. From different states, age groups, and backgrounds, it was unlikely they ever would. And yet they all were tempted by the same thing: opioids.

For Jim Stallings, and 91 Americans every day, it only took one more time.

Born and raised in Maryland, Stallings, his mother recalls, was funny and compassionate, always taking the side of the underdog. He loved fishing, grilling and tinkering with anything mechanical.

But in 1981, when he was 13, Stallings began taking prescription drugs at what were then called "fruit bowling" parties. These days they are known as "Skittles Parties," where teenagers raid their family medicine cabinets, dump whatever pills they find in a bowl and take them at random.

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Elijah Cummings, Leana S. Wen, Kevin Lindamood

A bill to fundamentally change the way Americans purchase and receive health care passed the House of Representatives and is now waiting consideration in the Senate. The bill, which was opposed by nearly every major medical organization, threatens the health and well-being of millions of Americans with public and private insurance.

The bill would effectively gut Medicaid, the program that today, thanks to expansion under the Affordable Care Act(ACA), ensures health services for 74 million Americans, including nearly 1.3 million Marylanders. As leaders and frontline health professionals, we see daily how Medicaid saves lives and provides hope and stability, and our state must join a growing national effort to preserve it.

On Monday, we will join with leaders from the NAACP, Health Care Access Maryland, Health Care for All! and advocates around the state at a public forum to advance our work here in Maryland to save Medicaid. We start that work by making sure elected officials and fellow citizens alike know and understand the role of Medicaid in safeguarding health and life in Baltimore, Maryland and nationally.

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Baltimore City health officials are warning residents to do their research before paying for cosmetic tattooing.