The scourge of opioid addiction had my nephew Shane in its grip some years back, and I am happy to report he struggled mightily, fought fiercely and conquered the addiction.
It was terrifying for so many months, but four years and three months ago he entered in-patient treatment. With the help of his lovingly patient wife, his mother and true friends, Shane, a St. Cloud resident, is now financially successful and thriving in his personal relationships, surrounded by the love of so many people and four beautiful young children – two of them 1-year-old twin boys.
Online and even at some of his business conferences, Shane shares the struggles he fought and the joy of being free from the terrors of addiction. His sharing with the goal of helping others has made him stronger and more confident. We are all incredibly proud of him.
Thank goodness Shane survived; so many did not. In 2015, there were 52,404 drug-overdose deaths in the United States, and 12,990 of them were caused by heroin, according to the American Society of Addiction Medicine. Opioid use has skyrocketed among teens and females in just the past few years. It’s so bad it can truly be called an “epidemic.” Four of five new heroin users were former abusers of opioids. The reason for that is because of the appalling fact that heroin is easier to obtain and less expensive than prescription opioids. And that’s a fact not lost on opportunistic dope-pushers.
Opioids are a class of opium-like compounds that bind with receptor cells in the body to produce morphine-like effects of euphoria. They are most often used as painkillers. Many of them can be found in an average family’s medicine cabinet as bottles of pills prescribed by doctors. In fact, many addictions began by young people “raiding” family medicine cabinets, taking the pills and sharing them, liking the “high” feelings and then seeking more, leading to addiction that often ends with heroin.
Typical opioids are codeine, fentanyl, methadone, paregoric, hydrocodone, tramadol, oxycodone. Those names have popped up again and again in the news. A bottle of fentanyl pills was found next to the body of Prince; Rush Limbaugh got himself in a jam years ago by illegally purchasing oxycodone pills; and the names of celebrities addicted to opioids, including heroin, at one time or another would fill a book: John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Eric Clapton, Angelina Jolie and Chris Herren – to name just some.
One thing is certain: The opioid epidemic is getting worse. During the presidential campaign, “opioid addiction” became a hotly-debated issue, especially in New Hampshire where, for some reason, opioid use is rampant, along with crimes and guns associated with the desperate behaviors of chronic addicts.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has vowed to fight the epidemic. Years ago, a good friend of his in law school died of a painkiller-overdose, a death that has continued to haunt Christie.
Said Christie: I sat at his funeral with our friends and helplessly watched his family grieve, and I thought to myself, ‘There but for the grace of God go I.’ It can happen to anyone.”
New Jersey now has a five-day limitation for opioids prescribed the first time, and it also requires insurance companies cover six months of treatment for addicted people.
Closer to home, the scourge has affected legislators’ families. The son of Minnesota State Rep. Dave Baker (R-Willmar) started taking prescription drugs for back pain, became addicted and died of a heroin overdose in 2011. State Sen. Christine Eaton (DFL-Brooklyn Center) lost her daughter, Ariel, to an overdose in 2007.
Baker is calling for a one-cent tax per milligram of every opioid sold by pharmaceutical companies. That, he said, could raise $20 million to help fund addiction programs and public-information campaigns.
The battle against opioid addiction must be fought on every front.
As in every problem, every epidemic, accurate information and awareness are ultimately the best solutions. People should learn all they can about opioids and the dangers of opioid addictions and then act upon what they’ve learned, sharing that information, along with preventive tactics, with others. One sure way is to discard bottles of opioids or lock them up in a safe place – not in a medicine cabinet.
There are many other good preventive strategies. To learn more, a good place to begin is the website www.familydoctor.org.
Learn and then share.
