120 People Die From This Every Day! The President’s Plan

Drug Overdose has increased over six-fold in the last three decades!

That’s more than traffic accident deaths!

 

 

Drug overdose is an epidemic. 120 people in the U.S. die from this each day! There are 22 million people that are fighting drug addiction. Over half started with prescription drugs. And millions more who are seeing their loved ones go through it.

Addiction is a disease.  President Obama is working to lift the stigma associated with substance abuse.

The Obama Administration has deployed a comprehensive and evidence-based strategy to address the threat posed by opioid drugs.

The National Drug Control Strategy has actions to improve on education for patients and health care providers. There are state-based Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs). There will be places for people to trash drugs they no longer need and they will get rid of pill mills.

To address the problem of over-dose, they will give support for medication-assisted opioid treatment and overdose prevention. And pursuing action against criminal organizations trafficking in and dealing opioid drugs!

Working with Federal Government or community partners, the major accomplishments over the past year have included:

* Fast-track approval by the FDA of an auto-injector for opioid overdose reversal;

* Release of an Opioid Overdose Toolkit by the Substance Abuse and           Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA);

* Public Education and Prevention efforts through 670 Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program coalitions;

* The launch of approximately 60 new continuing education or continuing medical
education programs on safe prescribing and substance misuse that health care personnel
and prescribers may take for credit toward license requirements;

* Interstate data-sharing by 24 of 49 state PDMPs; and

* Issuance of boxed warnings concerning the effect of long-acting extended-release
opioids on newborns.

Preventing drug use, especially in young people, is the best way to reduce drug use and its consequences.

In support of efforts to prevent drug use, the President’s plan:

* Promotes national, state, and community-based programs (including DFC) that are
evidence-based and work to prevent substance use in schools and in the workplace;

* Provides information on effective prevention strategies, including environmental
approaches, for use by youth advocates, parents, local prevention service providers, law
enforcement officers, faith-based representatives, health care workers, and community
organizers nationwide;

* Spreads prevention to the workplace through programs that ensure the safety and
wellness of employees and their families.

Early detection and treatment of a drug problem by a health care professional is more effective
and less costly than dealing with a chronic substance use disorder. They will work to expand programs, such as Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment. (SBIRT)

They support education for health care professionals for training on addiction and safe prescribing practices for pain pills. They also seek to reduce opioid overdose deaths by expanding comprehensive overdose prevention measures, including the use of the lifesaving overdose-reversal medicine Naloxone among first responders.

Of the 23.1 million Americans aged 12 or older who needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol use problem in 2012, only 2.5 million received treatment at a specialty facility. So now they have a strategy to get more people into the rehabs they need.

The Affordable Care Act will require insurance companies to cover the cost of rehabs. They will promote the use of medication-assisted treatment. And they also will work to expand treatment and re-entry services for those incarcerated; and expand health insurance coverage for all Americans, including college and university students and Native Americans.

Millions have made the journey to recovery! There is hope for everyone who is addicted.

If you have any questions for me, please leave them in the comments below. There are several more posts about addiction at the top of this page.

What do you think of this plan?

If you have an addict in your family or a friend, you might want to join TheAddictsMom. There’s a lot of support there and help. There are also FB groups, AlAnon and TAM groups by state. They’re all helpful and educational.

Have a wonderful day! Thank you for stopping by!