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- Jan 23, 2013
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OUR VIEW: We need to talk about drugs
Posted Oct. 13, 2014 @ 5:03 am
SCITUATE
Something needs to change.
The drug epidemic will never end if the system stays the way it is.
Some parents are actually buying their drug-addicted kids heroin because they see it as one of the only ways to get them long-term help.
When going the illegal route seems to be the only way toward a better life, it's time for drastic changes.
Gov. Deval Patrick made the right call in March to declare a public health emergency because of the growing heroin problem in Massachusetts. That declaration was an important step toward some quick solutions.
For one, first responders can now carry and administer Naloxone (Narcan) to help reverse the effects of an overdose. What some has called "the miracle drug" is now also available through standing order prescription in pharmacies.
The drug was used 2,000 times in the last year alone, Department of Public Health Commissioner Cheryl Bartlett said at a recent meeting in Scituate on opiate abuse.
Patrick’s declaration enabled the state also to shift more funding — $20 million — to the Department of Corrections and to Sheriffs’ Departments to increase treatment and recovery services to the general public.
It also asked the Interagency Council on Substance Abuse and Prevention to make recommendations for how the state should better coordinate services, ensure a full range of treatment regardless of insurance, and divert non-violent criminal defendants struggling with addiction into treatment programs.
But those measures are only just the beginning.
Bartlett presented some startling statistics at a recent opiate meeting in Scituate that show just how serious our fight is: Opiate abuse has spiked 90 percent in recent years; 60 percent of people in treatment are opiate addicts; and while the country makes up 5 percent of the world’s population, it consumes between 80 and 90 percent of the world’s opiates.
As with most things, fixing a problem that has been quietly worsening for years will take a lot of patience. There are obstacles like health insurance and rehab restrictions that have to be changed at a higher level.
But while the state does its studies and lawmakers work to change laws over time, there are local actions we can take to help.
Early intervention is key to breaking a bad pattern.
Locally, Scituate FACTS (Families, Adolescents, and Communities Together against Substances) has done a great job creating positive programming to help kids make better choices.
Continued here http://scituate.wickedlocal.com/article/20141013/NEWS/141019823/?Start=1
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Why are these groups receiving the millions. Im all for development and access to treatment, but are these groups the most qualified to design, provide, and oversee treatment? I think not. Plus it roots the utterly failed criminal approach and its agencies in the picture. If im sick I don't go to the sheriff's office or a probation officer, I go to a trained professional. If I wanted to create a new football league I would not give money to orange growers.
Posted Oct. 13, 2014 @ 5:03 am
SCITUATE
Something needs to change.
The drug epidemic will never end if the system stays the way it is.
Some parents are actually buying their drug-addicted kids heroin because they see it as one of the only ways to get them long-term help.
When going the illegal route seems to be the only way toward a better life, it's time for drastic changes.
Gov. Deval Patrick made the right call in March to declare a public health emergency because of the growing heroin problem in Massachusetts. That declaration was an important step toward some quick solutions.
For one, first responders can now carry and administer Naloxone (Narcan) to help reverse the effects of an overdose. What some has called "the miracle drug" is now also available through standing order prescription in pharmacies.
The drug was used 2,000 times in the last year alone, Department of Public Health Commissioner Cheryl Bartlett said at a recent meeting in Scituate on opiate abuse.
Patrick’s declaration enabled the state also to shift more funding — $20 million — to the Department of Corrections and to Sheriffs’ Departments to increase treatment and recovery services to the general public.
It also asked the Interagency Council on Substance Abuse and Prevention to make recommendations for how the state should better coordinate services, ensure a full range of treatment regardless of insurance, and divert non-violent criminal defendants struggling with addiction into treatment programs.
But those measures are only just the beginning.
Bartlett presented some startling statistics at a recent opiate meeting in Scituate that show just how serious our fight is: Opiate abuse has spiked 90 percent in recent years; 60 percent of people in treatment are opiate addicts; and while the country makes up 5 percent of the world’s population, it consumes between 80 and 90 percent of the world’s opiates.
As with most things, fixing a problem that has been quietly worsening for years will take a lot of patience. There are obstacles like health insurance and rehab restrictions that have to be changed at a higher level.
But while the state does its studies and lawmakers work to change laws over time, there are local actions we can take to help.
Early intervention is key to breaking a bad pattern.
Locally, Scituate FACTS (Families, Adolescents, and Communities Together against Substances) has done a great job creating positive programming to help kids make better choices.
Continued here http://scituate.wickedlocal.com/article/20141013/NEWS/141019823/?Start=1
......................................................................................................
Why are these groups receiving the millions. Im all for development and access to treatment, but are these groups the most qualified to design, provide, and oversee treatment? I think not. Plus it roots the utterly failed criminal approach and its agencies in the picture. If im sick I don't go to the sheriff's office or a probation officer, I go to a trained professional. If I wanted to create a new football league I would not give money to orange growers.
