Category Archives: Opioid Addiction

Ohio Town Hall on Opioid Addiction

Posted on February 1, 2019 | Comments Off on Ohio Town Hall on Opioid Addiction

Several organizations in Ohio recently hosted a town hall discussion on the opioid crisis still occurring there and across the country. News commentator, Eric Bolling, was a moderator of the event which was held at Cedarville University.

Eric and his wife, Adrienne, lost their 19 year old son in 2017 due to an accidental overdose with the powerful opioid, fentanyl.

This town hall discussion was designed to continue raising public awareness on the danger of opioid misuse and the continuing need for treatment and recovery support services to help families deal with this perpetual problem.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report that there were 70,237 drug overdoses in 2017 with 47,600 involving opioids specifically. The article linked above states that the state of Ohio ranked 2nd in overdose deaths only behind West Virginia.

There is promising news in that more Americans are now being educated on opioid risks, and consequently are taking better precautions as well as actively accessing methadone & suboxone programs offering helpful medication-assistance and behavioral counseling. Saving lives and offering recovery are messages that are being heard.

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Posted in Buprenorphine, Fentanyl, Heroin Overdose, Methadone, Methadone Clinics, Opioid Addiction, Recovery, Suboxone

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Youth and Opioid Addiction

Posted on October 2, 2018 | Comments Off on Youth and Opioid Addiction

In past decades, opioid addiction was skewed more heavily toward an older generation of adults. But today we have larger numbers of youth using opioids and experiencing addiction-related problems at earlier ages. Importantly, research has demonstrated conclusively that those who remain engaged in treatment for six months or more are much more likely to stabilize and to enjoy sustained success with recovery.

A recent Reuters Health article highlights the fact that many opioid-addicted youth are either not yet engaging in treatment or are exiting treatment too early. While more youth are being saved through the overdose reversal drug naloxone, a majority of addicted youth are still not receiving medicated-assisted treatments such as buprenorphine or methadone.

More work is necessary to open up treatment avenues for young adults across America, and to both educate & compel youth to seek MAT (medication-assisted treatment) as soon as possible.

The opioid addiction problem in America will not soon disappear. Drugs continue to find their way across the U.S. border through multiple avenues. Positive efforts are indeed bringing needed change, but the complexity and extent of opioid addiction in the U.S. will require a long-term, sustained commitment throughout the country. We must get the message out – especially to young people who may not fully grasp the power of addiction!

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Posted in Addiction Treatment, Buprenorphine, Heroin, Methadone Clinics, Opiate Addiction, Opioid Addiction, Recovery, Rehab For Teens, Suboxone

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President Proposes Funding Increase for Treating Opioid Addiction

Posted on March 30, 2016 | Comments Off on President Proposes Funding Increase for Treating Opioid Addiction

funding drug treatmentPresident Obama recently attended the National Prescription Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit in Atlanta, Georgia. Professionals and concerned citizens used the forum to explore ways to address America’s rising opioid addiction problem.

The President agreed that increased funding is needed to raise access to drug treatment in an effort to simply avoid incarcerating those addicted to heroin and other potentially deadly opioids.

The NBC article referenced here states that over 28,000 people died last year from opioid overdose in the United States. This number has quadrupled since 1999. Many of the overdoses occur from various opioids laced with a powerful prescription pain killer called fentanyl.

Methadone and buprenorphone (the active ingredient in suboxone) are the leading medications used in medication-assisted treatment approaches. Naloxone is another important medication which has been used to reverse opioid overdose. It has saved thousands of lives and is being widely adopted by first responders and police departments across the country due to its proven effectiveness.

President Obama expressed that the U.S. will move toward improved drug treatment access for opioid addicted individuals and that the issue of addiction will be dealt with more as a public health issue as opposed to strictly a criminal act. Included in the proposed legislation is doubling the patient limit such that doctors can treat up to 200 people with buprenorphine (suboxone). The current patient limit is 100.

The Department of Health and Human Services is reported to have committed another $94 million to community health centers to boost their provision of medication-assisted treatment in poor and isolated communities. Many rural areas of the U.S. have very limited availability of opioid addiction services.

Online Methadone Assessment

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Posted in Buprenorphine, Heroin, Heroin Overdose, Methadone, Methadone Clinics, Methadone Maintenance, Opiate Addiction, Opiate Prescription, Opioid Addiction, Prescription Drugs, Suboxone, Suboxone Clinics

PBS Special on Heroin Addiction in America

Posted on February 26, 2016 | Comments Off on PBS Special on Heroin Addiction in America

frontlinePBS’ Frontline series of specials just aired a compelling documentary by the name of Chasing Heroin. The two hour investigation profiles a number of individuals who became addicted to opioids, some of whom chose methadone or suboxone to help them successfully manage their addictive disorder.

The documentary highlights that addiction is best addressed as a medical illness instead of a punishable criminal act. There is widespread consensus today that putting large numbers of people in prison for drug use has not been an effective approach to the problem of drug addiction.

Incarcerating users is very costly and ultimately does not lead to remaining drug free once released from prison. For those suffering with a chronic opioid addiction, medication assisted treatment has become the standard of care proven to be most effective – particularly for those individuals who have tried others forms of treatment that did not work.

The Frontline documentary linked above is very informative, but please be forewarned that it does display vivid scenes of drug use that some viewers may find disturbing. So please exercise appropriate caution before viewing.

To Learn More About Detox, Methadone, or Suboxone

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Posted in Heroin, Heroin Overdose, Methadone, Methadone Clinics, Methadone Maintenance, Methadone Treatment, NIMBY, Opiate Addiction, Opioid Addiction, Suboxone, Suboxone Physicians

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