Strong community bonds help in opiate fight

Published 9:00 am Sunday, October 22, 2017

By Bill Spitzer

Austin Public Schools

We have certainly heard the word epidemic being tossed around a lot lately, as well as several articles and news specials about opiate abuse. Opiate abuse in the form of prescription drugs and the resurfacing of heroin have been a hot topic in these discussions.  So, what is an epidemic?  Webster defines it as something that affects a disproportionately large number of individuals.

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Our coalition was created because underage alcohol use in our community was reported at higher than the state average.  Maybe that is an epidemic as well?  Could reducing alcohol abuse help reduce the use of other drugs?

I just finished reading the book by Author Sam Quinones, “Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic.”  Well I must confess that I didn’t really read the book, I listen to the audiobook while I traveled I-90 these past several weeks.  The book outlined the perfect storm that occurred over the past couple of decades that led us to our current opiate crisis we are experiencing in our country.

Now I fully understand that this is one person’s view of how we got to this point, but it is nevertheless interesting and can be tied to many things we have seen in our own community.  The one thing Quinones ends his book with is HOPE. We normally highlight and magnify the concern but we must always remember there is positive in every community and the solutions can be found within our own community.

In his book, he starts out talking about the many abuses of prescription drugs and how our nation developed a fifth vital sign in the early 1990’s that was used in measuring pain.  Many of you can probably remember when your doctor’s office first posted those 10 different faces and asked you to describe your level of pain based on those faces.  It was an interesting vital sign because it could not be measured by an instrument, such as  a blood pressure cuff.  This vital sign was the opinion of the patient. The medical professional had to base their diagnose based on a person’s opinion instead a scientific value.  Some indicated this had a potential for abuse and in many cases, it did.

New pain relief drugs surfaced in the early to late 1990’s to help us control our pain like never before.  With the new vital sign in place, many doctors prescribed these drugs to control this pain.  Patients young and old were issued these new drugs to treat pain associated with many different ailments ranging from athletic injuries to dental procedures.  In Quinones book, he pointed to a single letter to the editor in the New England Journal of Medicine written by Porter and Jick that indicated that addiction to these pain medications were rare.  Whether this letter to the editor started this “perfect storm” is the opinion of one author, it certainly is interesting.

The book continues the story of how pain patients made the switch from prescription opiates to heroin.  Heroin continues to be a national and local concern today.

I had a chance to listen to Sam Quinones speak when I attended a national conference this fall.  Quinones did have some very helpful suggestions to prevent these tragedies centered around abuse.  One was the building and maintaining a STRONG community.  Remarkable such a simple suggestion could make a difference and incidentally is one of the goals we have for APAC: Building a resilient community.

During three local town hall discussions, last year on opiate abuse, we heard several recovering addicts started out abusing drugs like alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and prescription drugs before turning to opiates.  Based on those conversations, then maybe it is possible to reduce the abuse of these opiates by reducing the abuse of alcohol and those other drugs?  Reducing the underage use of alcohol is also a primary goal of APAC.

Join us and remember this age-old phase, it takes a whole village to raise a child.  With that in mind, everyone can do their part by disposing those unused prescription drugs in the drop box located at the Law Enforcement Center.

Bill Spitzer is the Planning and Implementation (P & I) Coordinator working closely with APAC (Austin Positive Action Coalition).  APAC and Bill will be working with our schools and community as part of a 5-year grant focusing on Positive Community Norms.  Feel free to contact him at the Austin High School 507.460.1800 ext. 0361 or via e-mail bill.spitzer@austin.k12.mn.us.  This grant is made possible by the Minnesota Department of Human Services, ADAD and hosted locally by the PRC.  To learn more about the Parenting Resource, visit their website at www.familiesandcommunities.org