General Discussion
Showing Original Post only (View all)It appears a fair number of DUers are unaware of an opioid crisis, [View all]
so I'm posting some background information.
The Opioid Crisis: One Mothers Heartbreaking Story
BOSTON (CBS) Epidemic and crisis are two words used with growing frequency when describing the escalating number of drug overdose deaths in Massachusetts. While the statistics have led to study committees, round table discussions, and legislative bills, addicts and their families continue to suffer.
In January 2014, an alarming spike in the number of fatal heroin overdoses in southeastern Massachusetts took the crisis from the shadows to the spotlight. The increase was blamed on a batch of heroin laced with fentanyl, but that explanation only scratched the surface.
I dug deeper. I spoke with addicts and their families. I attended support groups, interviewed politicians, police chiefs, a pharmacist who had been robbed, several doctors and a jailed drug dealer.
The research culminated in a multi-part series entitled Heroin: From Prescription to Addiction, which aired on WBZ NewsRadio 1030 the last week of June 2014.
Over the past year, the crisis has only intensified.'>>>
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2015/11/16/heroin-opioid-crisis-deaths-watertown-massachusetts-carol-morris-mary-blake-wbz-newsradio-1030/
Its not an opiate crisis, its a heroin crisis.
'Heroin claimed three lives last week in Lynn, the latest deaths in an opioid crisis that has been escalating across the state for years. In search of a more durable solution, Governor Charlie Baker has appointed a high-level working group, which heard this week from experts on the front lines as well as parents still mourning the loss of their kids.'>>>
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/03/11/opioid-crisis-really-about-heroin/bPkbdkNpxPQDF7htWSxhqN/story.html
A Comprehensive Strategy to End Opioid Abuse in Massachusetts
Like so many states across the country, Massachusetts is facing a growing epidemic of opioid addiction and overdose deaths. In March 2014, a Public Health Emergency was declared in the Commonwealth, triggering the formation of a Task Force which brought together affected individuals and families with stakeholders from public health, law enforcement, medical providers, and community agencies, among others.
Based upon the findings pdf format of Opioid Task Force Report
docx format of Opioid Task Force Report of the Task Force and with funding allocated by the legislature, the Department of Public Health (DPH) has taken a series of concrete actions to strengthen its ongoing efforts to prevent opioid addiction, reduce the number of opioid overdoses, help those already addicted to recover, and map a long-term solution to ending widespread opioid abuse in the Commonwealth.
A comprehensive strategy to address the crisis requires taking action in each of the following four key areas: Prevention, Intervention, Treatment, and Recovery Support. The list below highlights some of the many concrete actions undertaken since the declaration of the Public Health Emergency.
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2015/10/15/opioid-heroin-massachusetts-charlie-baker/