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There’s a hidden epidemic in America, and its killing people.
Opioid addiction has become an issue in big cities and small towns. No corner of the county is immune. According to the 2016 United Nations’ World Drug Report, the number of heroin users nationally is now approximately one million, three times the number of people addicted to the drug just 10 years ago. Opioids are a category of drugs that include heroin, but also many prescription drugs that are often used for pain management, such as: oxycodone, oxymorphone, hydrocodone and fentanyl.
Government officials claim that the heroin crisis is being compounded by the reemergence of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid more potent and often cheaper than the original drug.
According to Bob Vickrey, director of the WestCare Nevada Community Triage Center, a facility designed to triage patients who suffer from addiction issues, the location is seeing more people with a heroin addiction come in for treatment.
“We’ve seen 38 percent increase at the center in the past six months in the number of people who come to the center with an opioid dependence issue,” he said. “This can happen to anyone.”
Many people who use heroin are buying a mixture of synthetic heroin (fentanyl) and regular heroin without their knowledge. The result is a drug that is far more potent.
“The problem is that it can take somebody out really quick, and they can overdose,” Vickrey said. “You think you’re buying one thing, but you really don’t know what you’re getting.”
Vickrey said that it’s not all that uncommon for people who have become addicted to prescription painkillers to transition to heroin, or for their children to raid mom and dad’s medicine cabinet to get a fix that might become a full-blown addiction.
“A lot of people report getting pills from a friend,” he said. “It doesn’t take much to become addicted to opioids. Before you know it, you have a problem.”
According to a recently published report, several steps have been taken on the federal level in an effort to address the issue:
In October 2015, President Barack Obama announced a presidential memorandum requiring all federal agencies to provide training on the appropriate prescribing of opioid medications to health care professionals who prescribe controlled substances as part of their federal responsibilities.
The Centers for Disease Control has issued a guideline for the prescribing of opioid pain medication for patients 18 and older in primary care settings, focusing on the use of opioids in treating chronic pain outside of active cancer treatment, palliative care, and end-of-life care.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) now requires manufacturers of extended-release and long-acting opioid pain relievers to make available free or low-cost continuing education to prescribers under the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy for these drugs.
Earlier this year, President Obama requested $1.1 billion in new funding over the next two years, in an effort to expand treatment for users of heroin and prescription painkillers. According to officials, such efforts will help individuals seek and successfully complete treatment, and sustain recovery.
One specific plan lifts a federally mandated cap on the number of patients to whom a physician can prescribe buprenorphine, a drug considered effective in treating addiction. Studies have shown that limited access to the drug let to long waiting lists and overdose deaths occurring from patients on the waiting lists.
According to Vickrey, as long as doctors continue to prescribe opioids as pain medications, there’s a chance that people can become addicted.
“That doesn’t mean that everyone will, but it’s not a rare thing,” he said.
Vickrey said that doesn’t necessarily mean that those who struggle with pain pill addiction will turn to heroin but it’s more common than people realize.
“The best advice that I can give for anyone struggling with heroin addiction is to tell them that there’s another way to live,” he said. “For those who are contemplating toying with pain meds or trying heroin just once, don’t do it. Just don’t do it.”