[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]]
As already reported there have been trans-state
efforts to meet the opioid crisis.
Another such effort was initiated in early 2018. A number of senators wrote a letter to
President Trump expressing their concern that the president was not giving the epidemic
enough attention. The letter charged
that the White House Office of Nation Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has shown a
lack of oversight in the nation’s coordination of policy to meet the fentanyl,
heroin, opioid epidemic.
Among
the evidence the letter cites is the fact that there has not been in both the ONDCP
and the DEA a permanent, confirmed leadership since the Trump administration
has taken office. This is due to the
fact the Administration has not submitted qualified candidates for those
positions. The letter obviously asked
for such candidates to be submitted not only for those two agencies but for the
Department of Justice, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA), and other positions.[2]
There
is some good news associated with state efforts. According to targeted research,[3]
life-saving use of a new treatment, Buprenorphine, are being used in state
efforts. The comparison research has
shown that increased use of this treatment has lowered death rates among opioid
addicts. This was determined by
comparing the efforts of various states.
In
terms of this treatment, there is also the case study of France. There, Buprenorphine, which has been part of
the established treatment for opioid addiction for decades, has lowered the
death rate due to opioid by 79% over a four-year period. Today, 64% of opioid user in France use this
drug to curb cravings and, consequently, reduce overdosing.[4]
This ends this
review of state/local efforts. This unit
of study should emphasize local efforts and the information in this and the
previous posting is meant to get student efforts started. Generally, the judgement here is that states
and local authorities have not been energetic enough. As a reminder, over 42,000 people die every
year due to this epidemic; that’s 116 a day.
Next topic in this blog will be federal government efforts in addressing
this tragic epidemic.
[P.S.: Update on some
previously reported factoids and insights:
·
Purdue
Pharma was aware of the addictive qualities of opioid drugs well before this
quality was generally known.[5]
·
The
pharmaceutical industry spent around $46 million in marketing opioids in mainly
payments to doctors. This payed off in
ensuing years as the industry enjoyed profits of $14.7 billion due to the selling
of these drugs.[6]
·
Early
use of the opioids, beyond their then primary use in treating terminal patients,
began in injury prone areas of the nation where agriculture and coal mining are
chief employment avenues.][7]
[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] The letter was signed by Senators Maggie W. Hassen, Edward
Markey, Dianne Feinstein, Sheldon Whitehouse, Richard Blumenthal, Catherine
Cortez Masto, Sherod Brown, Jeanne Shaheen, Tammy Balwin, and Elizabeth Warren
and dated January 17,2018.
[3] German Lopez, “The States Taking the Opioid Epidemic
Seriously (and Not), in One Map,” Vox, February 22, 2018, accessed August 9,
2018, https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/2/22/17037346/opioid-epidemic-state-policy-map
. The research was conducted by Avalere
Health.
[4] “This Opioid Addiction Treatment Helped France Combat
Its Own Epidemic,” NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, posted on Facebook July
25, 2018, accessed August 10, 2018, https://www.facebook.com/nbcnightlynews/videos/this-opioid-addiction-treatment-helped-france-combat-its-own-epidemic/10156761894368689/
.
[5] MSNBC Live with
Velshi and Ruhle, August 9, 2018.
The portion of the broadcast dedicated to this topic consisted mostly of
an interview with author, Beth Macy, as she spoke of her recently published
book, Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that
Addicted America (August 2018).
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
