[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]]
Among those who provide counter measures to the
various aspects of the opioid crisis, there are medical professionals and
others. This posting focuses on the
others from national figures to those from the media. Here are the related factoids:
·
The CDC, in 2016, issued a guideline publication, “Guideline for
Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain.”
Included in this document is the recommendation that opioid use be
restricted to those cases where the anticipated benefits for pain treatment are
judged to be of greater weight than the inherent risks. It further calls for medical personnel to
prescribe the lowest effective dosage and avoid prescribing, at the same time,
other opioids and/or benzodiazepine when possible.[2] In addition, the CDC was heavily lobbied while
the government agency was producing this guideline.[3]
·
Such experts, such as epidemiologist Silvia Martin, have begun
issuing warnings especially where there has been a general social acceptance of
opioid use. What Martin calls for is
that parents and youth be better informed about the negative risks opioids present. In addition, she advises that better training
for medical professionals be provided.[4]
·
While the media covering this epidemic tend to portray it as a criminal
problem, many see it as a medical problem.[5]
·
In a Washington Post story, the newspaper used the services of
the fired DEA regulator, Joseph Rannazzisi, to report on the politics
associated with the highly advancing number of deaths in 2016 due to opioids. Apparently, the former regulator lost in his
efforts to rein in the interests of pharmaceutical companies in providing opioids.[6]
·
Irrespective of heavier coverage of white victims in the media, consumption
of opioids among Hispanics, blacks, and Native Americans have been comparable
to whites. In terms of deaths, each of
these groups have experienced a 200 to 300% increase between 2010 and
2014. The lack of recorded numbers among
Asians prevents one from making a similar observation.
The accompanying insights are:
·
A lead researcher at the University of Florida, Chris Delcher,
claims that following the “crackdowns” over the prescription of addictive drugs,
the cost of such drugs decreased, and their availability rose, resulting in
increased numbers of deaths due to fentanyl, heroin, and morphine.[7]
·
One aspect of how the nation has met the opioid epidemic has
been the way the media portrays its victims.
In general, white victims, more usually living in rural areas, are given
more space, longer contextual information (background stories), and reviews of the
lost opportunities addiction has represented.
Media coverage of urban blacks victimized by the drug problem seem to
emphasize heroin use, reinforcing stereotypes of that group.[8]
·
Of late, utilizing keywords has opened opportunities by
researchers and law enforcement agents of gaining information from social media,
such as tweets, on the acquisition and use of opioids. Governing this type of investigation is the
enacted legislation, the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act.[9]
Next posting will focus more attention
to the medical reactions this nation has undertaken to meet the challenges of
this epidemic.
[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] Deborah Dowell, Tamara M. Haegerich, and Roger Chou, “CDC
Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain – United States, 2016,” JAMA
Network, April 19, 2016, accessed August 20, 2018, https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2503508
. Google defines benzodiazepine as
follows: any of a class of heterocyclic organic compounds used as
tranquilizers, such as Librium and Valium (see:
https://www.google.com/search?q=meaning+the+word+benzodiazepine&oq=meaning+the+word+benzodiazepine&aqs=chrome..69i57.11724j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 ).
[3] Matthew Perrone, “Painkiller Politics: Efforts to Curb Prescribing under Fire,” The
Washington Times, December 18, 2015, accessed August 20, 2018, https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/dec/18/effort-to-curb-painkiller-prescribing-faces-stiff-/
AND Azeen Ghorayshi, “Missouri Is the Only State in the US Where Doctors Have
No Idea What Prescriptions People Are Getting,” BuzzFeed News, March 7, 2017,
accessed August 20, 2018, https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/azeenghorayshi/missouri-americas-drugstore
. These two articles hint, from
different political perspectives, at the politics involved with attempts at
addressing the opioid crisis.
[4] Silvia S. Martins and Lilian A. Ghandour, “Nonmedical Use of
Prescription Drugs in Adolescents and Young Adults: Not Just a Western Phenomenon,” World Psychiatry,
originally published February 2017 (online publication January 26, 2017),
accessed August 20, 2018, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5269500/
.
[5] Emma E. McGinty, Alene Kennedy-Hendricks, Julia Baller, Jeff
Niederdeppe, Sarah Gollust, Colleen L. Barry, “Criminal Activity or Treatable
Health Condition? News Media Framing of
Opioid Analesic Abuse in the United States, 1998-2012,” Psychiatric Services, December 1, 2015,
accessed August 20, 2018, https://ps.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ps.201500065
.
[6] Scott Higham and Lenny Bernstein, “Who Is Joe Rannazzisi: The DEA Man Who Fought the Drug Companies and
Lost, The Washington Post, October 15, 2017, accessed August 20, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/who-is-joe-rannazzisi-the-dea-man-who-fought-the-drug-companies-and-lost/2017/10/15/c3ac4b0e-b02e-11e7-be94-fabb0f1e9ffb_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.bc6e81705555
.
[7] Doug Bennett, “Report: Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs Not
Shown to Affect Drug Overdoses,” Santa Rosa's Press Gazette, May 22, 2018, August 20, 2018, http://www.srpressgazette.com/news/20180522/report-prescription-drug-monitoring-programs-not-shown-to-affect-drug-overdoses
. Apparently, the crackdowns have not affected
the supply of opioids.
[8] Julie Netherland and Helen B. Hansen, “The War on
Drugs That Wasn’t: Wasted Whiteness, ‘Dirty
Doctors,’ and Race in Media Coverage of Prescription Opioid Misuse,” Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry, December
2016, vol. 40, no. 4, 664-686, abstract accessed August 20, 2018, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11013-016-9496-5
.
[9] Janel Firestein, “Using AI in Wholesale Distribution
to Mitigate Opioid Abuse,” Clarkston Consulting, February 21, 2018, accessed
August 20, 2018, https://clarkstonconsulting.com/insights/ai-wholesale-distribution-opioids/
.
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