In the past, this blog has shared lists of factoids and
insights this writer links to the opioid crisis. His interest in that concern has not waned. His reading into the topic has led him to Beth
Macy’s book, Dopesick.[1] Using Macy’s work, this posting adds to the
previous listings. Below, it also
informs the reader how to find the initial listings.
First
item: One depressing factoid is that America’s
life expectancy, between highest fifth in terms of wealth and the lowest fifth,
widened between the years 1980 and 2010 by 13%.
The Appalachian poor account for a significant portion of that widening due
to the incidence drug taking (much of it being opioids). “[O]verdose mortality rates [are] 65 percent
higher than in the rest of the nation.”[2]
Second
item: Part of the marketed advantages, according
to its producer, of OxyContin was its longer period of pain relief. Purdue Pharma claimed its relief lasted three
times longer than the claimed relief time – four hours – of most other pain
pills. In addition to that reported
advantage, the company claimed that since the drug had a slow-release time, it
would frustrate those who used the drug to elicit a euphoric rush and,
therefore, discourages its use for that purpose. This latter advantage has proved to be
untrue.
Third
item: The use of poppy derived opium can
be traced back to Neolithic humans.
Apparently, the two aims have been all along to induce a high and/or to
get cured of some malady. Jumping to a
much more recent time, but considered some time ago, were the years before and
during the Civil War. It is during that
time the use of morphine became common.
Fourth item: An early proponent of morphine, an opioid,
was Dr. Alexander Wood, the inventor of the hypodermic needle. Wood touted that one use for his needle could
be injecting morphine which was to avoid the drug’s addictive quality that resulted
from either swallowing or smoking it.
His promotion was made in the mid-1800s.
Of course, his claim proved to be untrue as its application to Civil War
veterans demonstrated; many of them – 100,000 – became addicted.
Fifth item: The Macy book should be read if for no other
reason than to become informed of the work done by Dr. Art Van Zee and Catholic
nun, Sister Beth Davis, in their work to combat the marketing efforts of pharmaceutical
companies to promote the distribution and use of opioids. They should be considered for one of those
awards that are handed out in Washington to outstanding citizens by a president
or the heads of Congress. Van Zee has
won over a dozen national awards.
Sixth item: On a cultural level, Macy provides an insight
into the Appalachian people. “In an
Appalachian culture that prides itself on self-reliance and a feisty dose of
fatalism, peddling pills was now the modern-day moonshining. Some passed the trade secrets down to their
kids because, after all, how else could they afford to eat and pay their bills?”[3] Macy, with this last reference about being
able to afford food, is reflecting the devasting effects caused by the elimination
of jobs in that region due to the cessation of coal mining or manufacturing
jobs.
Seventh item: The Appalachian coal region can be credited
with bucking a trend. Many postings in
this blog have repeatedly claimed that the nation has abandoned, as a dominant
view, the federated view of citizenry.
That is, as was the case before World War II, Americans were easily apt
to involve themselves in communal efforts to address local problems. But since that war, they have not been so
disposed.
It also describes, as an exception,
how after many years suffering from an opioid addiction problem, the city of
Portsmouth, Ohio of late has begun to seriously address this addiction. The lack of initiatives generally can be regarded
as an enabling factor in the spread and severity of that epidemic.
But here is another case countering the
general trend. It turns out that miners
in Appalachian localities had portions of their pay directed to build a clinic way
back in 1973. In addition, these
communities of miners have initiated fund raising efforts – like bake sales and
talent shows – that have actively solicited money from their neighbors to meet
the needs of drug affected families. Of
note, these efforts were organized by three nuns who were, in turn, inspired in
their youth by the War on Poverty programs initiated by the efforts of LBJ’s
administration.
Eighth item: An added factoid regarding the elements of an
addiction is that an opioid addiction, like alcoholism, lasts a lifetime. Relapses are common and active treatment, to
be effective, needs to last ten years.
While 40-60% of treated addicts experience remission – when assisted
with appropriate medication – relapsing among them is a problem. In the meantime, 4% of opioid addicts die
annually from overdoses. Given that the
death rate is 68,500, in 2018, over 1.7 million Americans are addicted today.
Ninth item: And for this posting, the last factoid it
offers is to report that, as with the addiction problems after the Civil War,
recognition of opioid addiction on such drugs as Oxi-Contin was slow to develop.
For readers who are new to this blog
or to those who have not kept up with the blog’s description of how factoids
and insights are used for classroom purposes, the following is offered. Factoids are “bundled” facts that can be utilized
in conducting an inquiry over an issue or societal problem. Insights are statements of some cause and
effect relationship between or among factors.
In both cases, these statements are useful in constructing arguments.[4]
Also, this writer has accumulated a
list of factoids and insights relating to the opioid crisis. That can be found online and has the
following URL: https://onedrive.live.com/view.aspx?resid=CED163627385DD3C!11635&ithint=file%2cdocx&app=Word&authkey=!AFhwqIF3ZhONVK8 . He will, within the next few days, add the above
factoids and insights identified to this online site.
[1] Beth Macy, Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that
Addicted America (New York, NY:
Riverhead Books, 2018).
[3] Ibid., 42 (Kindle edition).
[4] See Stephen Toulmin, The Uses of Argument (London:
Cambridge University Press, 1969) AND Robert Gutierrez, “The Structure
of an Argument or Two,” Gravitas: A
Voice for Civics, May 15, 2015, accessed July 22, 2019, https://gravitascivics.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-structure-of-argument-or-two.html .
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