Get serious about opioids
As a recent physician transplant from Ohio, the epicenter of the opioid epidemic, I applaud the governor for a start on the opioid crisis. As we live in the Hilton Head Island bubble, we tend to think things like that don’t happen here. But a recent police blotter says otherwise.
A recent arrest of a man for drug distribution detailed charges for fentanyl (10 times stronger than heroin). For the last two years, fentanyl has been the major killer in the Ohio epidemic, which in 2016 totalled 4,329 deaths. This is illicitly made in China, but the cartels now bring it in as well.
The biggest solution is education of the public, which the Packet could help by republishing an excellent Washington Post article on the relative strengths of all the common opioids with pictorial details that make contrasts evident.
Also, the state medical board could make the voluntary Prescription Drug Monitoring Program mandatory, as that results in 90-plus percent compliance by physicians vs. less than 5 percent. This is particularly important as the majority of addicts start with prescribed opioids. It’s incumbent on all of us to become educated consumers of all medications, particularly opioids, so a surprise overdose is not in our future.
The governor’s declaration does not include funding, so it rings hollow as dollars spent now on education and treatment could avoid the later, costlier court, jail, additional treatment and coroner costs. Ohio is now suing drug manufacturers and distributors to help pay for it.
John MacLaurin
Hilton Head Island
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This story was originally published January 5, 2018 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Get serious about opioids."