Wood County Prevention Coalition
Uniting For A Drug-Free Community Since 2004
Medication assisted treatment can curb opioid abuse
August 30, 2018
Every day, approximately 170 Americans die from an opioid overdose.
The opioid crisis has been building for 30 years. It started with physicians over-prescribing painkillers and has now morphed into a heroin and fentanyl epidemic.
In 2017, an estimated 62,000 people died from opioid related overdoses, up 48 percent from 42,000 deaths in 2016. Drug overdoses now represent the leading cause of death for Americans under the age of 50 and life expectancy has fallen.
This public health epidemic isn’t just deadly, it is also costly. Between 2001 and 2017, Americans spent $217 billion on healthcare related costs connected to the opioid abuse epidemic.
Widespread opioid addiction has also hampered economic productivity and necessitated additional spending on social services, education, and criminal justice, at a cumulative cost of $1 trillion.
Physicians and addiction specialists agree that “medication-assisted treatment” could curb this epidemic. MAT combines prescription drugs that prevent opioid cravings with counseling and other clinical support.
Increased access to MAT would greatly reduce the number of lives lost and dollars spent. Fifty percent of opioid addicted individuals who undergo MAT remain free of illicit drug use after 18 months.
By contrast, 90 percent of individuals who try to discontinue opioids without MAT relapse within a year.
But right now, government regulations and insurance programs make it exceedingly difficult for patients suffering from opioid use disorder to access MAT. Changing these rules would save thousands of lives while offering a bipartisan solution to the opioid epidemic.
Need more evidence of MAT’s effectiveness? In Connecticut and Rhode Island, correctional facilities are using three federally approved medications: methadone, buprenorphine, and injectable naltrexone. This MAT has reduced recidivism and kept ex-offenders alive following their release.
This is great news — and it’s why my organization has been working with correctional facilities to increase inmates’ use of MAT for opioid use disorder.
But we need to increase access to MAT for everyone. Luckily, federal agencies are doing their part.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is working to increase access to treatment. The Food and Drug Administration is reviewing a wider range of MAT drugs and encouraging researchers to develop new MAT therapies.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse is researching new technologies to treat opioid use disorder. And in April, the National Institutes of Health launched an initiative to develop new formulations of MAT to broaden treatment options for the untreated opioid addict.
However, people struggling with addiction still face barriers to treatment. Currently, Medicare does not cover MAT medications for beneficiaries in opioid treatment programs.
Fortunately, there is bipartisan Congressional support for providing such Medicare Part B coverage to Medicare beneficiaries, who are treated in opioid treatment programs.
Similarly, many state Medicaid programs and commercial insurers don’t cover MAT. Policy-making groups and organizations, including the American Medical Association and the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, have urged them to change these policies so that everyone has access to treatment.
MAT is a tragically underutilized tool. Coordinated policy initiatives — ones that increase MAT use, implement prevention programs, and use balanced enforcement — offer the best chance to end the opioid epidemic.
Mark Parrino is the President of American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence.
What some experts are saying about Tobacco 21
The Athens Post by Bennett Leckrone 9/3/18
Cities across Ohio are raising the minimum age for tobacco product sales to 21 — a movement that advocates say could lead to a decline in smoking.
Cleveland, Columbus and Akron have all raised the minimum age for tobacco sales to 21. They are among more than 330 cities and counties across 21 states that have enacted such measures, according to Tobacco 21, an initiative by the Preventing Tobacco Addiction Foundation.
The topic has also been brought up in Athens. Athens City Council members heard a presentation on the initiative in June, but the initiative isn’t becoming an ordinance yet, Council President Chris Knisely said.
Tobacco 21 advocates and health experts alike say the legislation could improve public health.
Katherine Ungar, the executive director of Tobacco 21, said raising the minimum sale age could help keep tobacco products out of the hands of minors. Eighteen-year-olds are more likely to be involved in high school social circles than 21-year-olds, Ungar said, and can provide their peers with access to tobacco.
“It is extremely important that we are not addicting our kids,” Ungar said.
All tobacco products, including vapes and e-cigarettes, are included in the age raise. Ungar said those products still contain highly addictive nicotine and sometimes can lead to a transition to other tobacco products.
Research backs the claim that raising the minimum age to purchase tobacco would cut down on tobacco use across the nation.
According to a 2015 Institute of Medicine study, raising the minimum legal sale age for tobacco products to 21 nationwide could lead to a decline in smoking rates. According to the study, raising the age could reduce the rates of initial tobacco usage among teens aged 15 to 17 by up to 25 percent.
Overall prevalence of tobacco use could be reduced by up to 12 percent, according to the study. The study also projects that if the sale age was raised immediately, 223,000 premature deaths could be prevented.
Ungar said the measure is directed toward retailers rather than those who purchase tobacco.
“Penalizing youth for purchase, use, and/or possession (also known as a “PUP” provision) has not been proven to be an effective measure for reducing youth tobacco use,” Ungar said in an email. “In fact, some experts suggest that PUP laws detract from effective enforcement and tobacco control efforts. Moreover, enforcement officials focused on penalizing youth will dedicate less attention and resources to retailer enforcement. Overall, the penalty should be a civil one, focused on the Retailer to incentivize retailer compliance.”
The initiative has been hotly debated in some areas of the country. Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner recently vetoed statewide Tobacco 21 legislation, according to The State Journal-Register.
Rauner said the legislation would do little to keep tobacco away from youths.
The Illinois Chamber of Commerce also opposed the legislation, citing its decriminalization of underage tobacco use and projected revenue hits, according to a release.
Drug & alcohol abuse prevention trumps politics in D.C.
By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Preventing drug and alcohol abuse is not a political issue. Milan Karna saw that firsthand this week as he attended a roundtable discussion hosted by President Donald Trump at the White House.
Karna, coordinator of the Wood County Prevention Coalition, was asked to attend the 20-year anniversary of the Office of the National Drug Control Policy’s Drug-Free Communities Support Program grant awards in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. Karna was one of six grant recipients present from the 731 programs in the nation.
The programs – which work to prevent drug and alcohol abuse by youth – were awarded $90.9 million. The Wood County Prevention Coalition’s piece of the pie was $125,000.
This is the fifth year for the local coalition to receive federal funding.
“The coalition is neutral,” Karna said. “It’s public service for the betterment of the entire community.”
Karna was gratified that the current administration appeared to understand the value of the prevention programs.
“I understand people have different feelings about different political figures,” Karna said. Both Ohio senators Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman have been long-time supporters of funding the programs – but the support of the administration was unproven.
“It was encouraging to hear this administration has agreed to allow this program to continue,” Karna said.
During the roundtable discussion, youths from some of the prevention coalitions spoke of the reasons behind their commitment to the cause. President Donald Trump shared his personal story of his brother’s alcohol addiction.
“He seemed very sincere,” Karna said. “I could sense that he was personally affected.”
Karna has his own personal story that spurs his efforts to prevent drug and alcohol abuse. Karna’s father had issues with alcohol and tobacco. He was able to quit drinking – but had a much tougher time with smoking – even after undergoing a quintuple bypass.
“He was asking my brother and me for cigarettes,” shortly after the surgery, Karna said. His father, who grew up in Yugoslavia, started smoking at age 5. He died in 2012 at age 72.
“I think that’s something that drives me,” Karna said.
It’s a motivator for many.
“I think this is an issue a lot of people care about. There is a lot of grief and energy to do something,” Karna said.
That may be why the issue has the ability to cross political lines.
“Prevention is something we should all be able to rally around,” Karna said. “Prevention is often talked about, but when push comes to shove, it’s not always supported. We believe our youth are the most valuable asset. Prevention should be supported.”
The Wood County Prevention Coalition will use the federal grant funding to continue its efforts such as:
- Working on environmental strategies with law enforcement
- Surveying local youth to get useful data on substance abuse.
- Providing training for professionals.
- Screening to help identify substance abuse.
Those prevention steps have focused on lowering use of prescription drugs, marijuana, tobacco and alcohol by local youths. The success has been shown in annual surveys given to teens in the county.
Annual alcohol and marijuana use among local high school seniors has decreased by approximately 26 percent and 16 percent respectively since initial federal funding to the Wood County Prevention Coalition.
“Prevention is a powerful tool to counteract drug use in our community, and this funding will continue to help youth in Wood County make healthy choices about substance use,” Karna said.
Karna was able to share Wood County’s success with others present at the Washington, D.C., event.
“I talked their ears off,” he said.
“It’s really an honor for any grantee to receive this,” he said. “It was really an honor to represent Wood County.”
Other areas in Ohio are having less success. Montgomery County had the highest per capita rate of opiate overdose deaths in the nation in 2016.
Trump mentioned his support for using capital punishment for drug traffickers. Karna refrained from voicing his opinion on that policy idea, but agreed that the opiate crisis with fentanyl involved is a “devastating public safety issue.”
The numbers – an estimated 134 Americans dying a day from opioid overdoses – are horrendous, yet they don’t tell the whole story.
“The stories may not be told beyond the numbers,” but that’s what keeps people committed and what keeps the funding coming to solve the issue, Karna said.
The next meeting of the Wood County Prevention Coalition is Sept 28, from 8:30 to 10 a.m., in the Wood County Educational Service Center on Dunbridge Road, Bowling Green. Anyone interested is welcome to attend.
Related Stories:
At White House reception, Wood County awarded $125,000 for opioid battle
Wood County prevention coalition receives $125,000 grant to fight youth substance abuse
Community Meeting for September 28th, Featured presentations from the Wood County ADAMHS Board, Wood County Prosecutor
Wood County Prevention Coalition Community Meeting
Friday, Sep 28, 2018, 08:30 AM
Wood County Educational Services, Research Drive, Bowling Green, OH, USA
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
About Us
Our Vision: Helping youth be drug-free, productive and responsible citizens.
Our Mission: We are a coalition of compassionate community members working together to coordinate high quality programs for the prevention of youth substance abuse in Wood County.
Email: mkarna@wcesc.org
Website: wcprevention.org
Location: 1867 Research Drive, Bowling Green, OH, United States
Phone: (419)-354-9010
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WCPCoalition
Twitter: @woodpccoalition