INITIAL FEDERAL REACTIONS

[Note:  This posting is a continuation of a report on the development of a civics unit of study.  This unit is directing students to formulate informed positions on the opioid epidemic.  It is being developed in real time.  Writer wants to express gratitude to Wikipedia for identifying the bulk of the research this blog has used in the development of this unit.[1]]

Another aspect of the opioid crisis is how the federal government has reacted to it.  This posting highlights that reaction by reporting lists of factoids and insights that convey that governmental activity.  That governmental reaction seems to have begun in 2010.

Factoids:

·        In 2010 the federal government began implementing a policing policy by subjecting pharmacists and doctors, found to be over-prescribing opioids supposedly to patients suffering from pain, appropriate oversight.[2]

·        Legislation was enacted in 2010 that permitted pharmacies to accept controlled drugs from households and long-term care facilities as a “take-back” effort.  The legislation was an amendment to the existing law, Controlled Substance Law, and named the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act.[3]

·        Under the Obama Administration, a white paper was issued in 2011.  It reviewed the administration’s strategy to confront the epidemic.  Picking up this information, a number of medical and government advisory groups from other countries began to echo this plan.[4]

·        In 2016, President Barack Obama signed legislation which greatly increased addiction treatment for those who have over-used opioids.  Included were authorization to spend millions of federal dollars on research and treatment especially using buprenorphine which has been found to reduce cravings for the opioid drugs.  That legislation is entitled the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act.[5]

·        Unfortunately, another law enacted in 2016, Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act, is thought to have decreased the ability of the DEA to use its resources in meeting the crisis.[6] 

·        Yet another piece of legislation, that same year of 2016, the 21^st Century Cures Act, was enacted.  It called for spending a billion dollars in state grants.  State governments were to spend that money to fight the epidemic.  This law was passed with overwhelming, bipartisan support both in the Senate and in the House of Representatives.[7]

·        The new administration under President Trump instituted a number of steps to address the crisis.  The President first named the New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie, to head a commission to study the epidemic;[8] he then, as a result of the commission’s report, nominated Tom Marino to be director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (popularly known as the “drug czar”).[9]  In all, the Trump administration has labelled the epidemic a “national emergency.”[10]

Insights:

·        Federal government crackdown on over-prescribers led to an unintended consequence; addicted users, having more difficulty obtaining prescriptions, turned to using heroin instead.  For example, one finding from Utah was that 80% of heroin users began their drug-taking with prescription drugs.[11]

·        Tom Marino, the nominated drug czar, attributes government’s reaction to the opioid crisis to the fact that typical users are mostly white and middle class – they are more apt to call a legislator and effectively complain to their insurance companies for more liberal coverage of drug treatment.  Apparently that segment of the population is more likely to know how to communicate their demands.[12]

The next posting will continue to report on the federal government’s reaction to the opioid epidemic.

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[1] The writer also wants to state that where possible, he has checked the sources and has at times added to the listed research.

[2] “America’s Opioid Epidemic Is Worsening,” Economist, March 6, 2017, accessed August 13, 2018, https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2017/03/06/americas-opioid-epidemic-is-worsening AND Christopher Caldwell, “American Carnage:  The New Landscape of Opioid Addiction,” First Things, April 2017, accessed August 13, 2018,  https://www.firstthings.com/article/2017/04/american-carnage , an excellent review article.

[3] “Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010,” Legislation Text:  Public Law 111-273-Oct. 12, 2010, Government Publishing Office, accessed August 13, 2018, https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-111publ273/pdf/PLAW-111publ273.pdf .

[4] “Tackling the Opioid Public Health Crisis,” Wayback Machine, June 7, 2016, cite no longer on-line AND “First Do No Harm:  Responding to Canada’s Prescription Drug Crisis,” National Advisory Council [of Canada] on Prescription Drug Misuse, March 2013, accessed by http://www.ccsa.ca/resource%20library/canada-strategy-prescription-drug-misuse-report-en.pdf AND “UK:  Task Force Offers Ideas for Opioid Addiction Solutions, Delhidailynews.com (DDN), June 11, 2014, accessed August 13, 2018, http://www.delhidailynews.com/news/UK--Task-Force-offers-ideas-for-opioid-addiction-solutions-1402491160/ .

[5] “Summary of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act,” American Society of Addiction Medicine, n. d., accessed August 13, 2018, https://www.asam.org/advocacy/issues/opioids/summary-of-the-comprehensive-addiction-and-recovery-act .

[6] Scott Higham and Lenny Bernstein, “How Congress Allied with Drug Company Lobbyists to Derail the DEA’s War on Opioids,” The Washington Post, October 15, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/ .

[7] Mike DeBonis, “Congress Passes 21^st Century Cures Act:  Boosting Research and Easing Drug Approvals,” The Washington Post, December 7, 2016.

[8] Kelly O’Donnell, “Opioid Epidemic:  Trump to Set Up Commission on Addiction Crisis,” NBC News, March 29, 2017, accessed August 13, 2018, https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/americas-heroin-epidemic/opioid-epidemic-trump-set-commission-addiction-crisis-sources-say-n739861 AND Newt Gingrich, Van Jones, and Patrick Kennedy, “It’s Time to ‘Trump’ Opioid Addiction in the United States,” The Hill, February 27, 2017, accessed August 13, 2018, http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/healthcare/321256-its-time-to-trump-opioid-addiction-in-the-united-states AND Tim Hains, “President Trump Hosts an Opioid and Drug Abuse Listening Session,” Real Clear Politics, March 29, 2017, accessed August 13, 2018, https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2017/03/29/president_trump_hosts_an_opioid_and_drug_abuse_listening_session.html .

[9] Cristiano Lima, “Trump to Tap Rep. Tom Marino as ‘Drug Czar,’” Politico, September 1, 2017, accessed August 13, 2018, https://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/01/trump-tom-marino-drug-czar-242277 .

[10] Christopher Ingraham, “White House Opioid Commission to Trump:  ‘Declare a National Emergency’ on Drug Overdoses,” The Washington Post, July 31, 2017 AND Joel Achenbach, John Wagner, and Lenny Bernstein, The Washington Post, August 10, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-declares-opioid-crisis-is-a-national-emergency-pledges-more-money-and-attention/2017/08/10/5aaaae32-7dfe-11e7-83c7-5bd5460f0d7e_story.html?utm_term=.8026b824f0b6 .

[11] Alex Stuckey, “Poll:  Many Utahns Know People Who Seek Treatment for Opioid Addictin, but Barriers Remain,” The Salt Lake Tribune, April 3, 2017, accessed August 13, 2018, http://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=5110951&itype=CMSID .

[12] Katharine Q. Seelye, In Heroin Crisis, White Families Seek Gentler War on Drugs,” The New York Times, October 30, 2015, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/31/us/heroin-war-on-drugs-parents.html .