Get serious about opioid, heroin epidemic: Our view

The statistics are terrifying.

• The number of opioid prescriptions in Mississippi outnumber the number of people living here.
• Nationally, the state ranks fifth in per capita opioid consumption, trailing Alabama, Tennessee, West Virginia and Arkansas.
• The number of Americans now using prescription painkillers (38 percent) outnumber those using tobacco (31 percent).
• Since 2001, half a million Americans have died from drug overdoses — more than the entire city populations of Miami, Atlanta or Cleveland.

Despite the high number of opioid prescriptions in our state, we have so far been spared the scourge that has swept through other parts of the country, where opioid and heroin addiction has reached epidemic proportions. However, the warning signs are here, and if we continue to ignore them, Mississippi could one day soon face the same kind of explosive addiction and death rates as other states.

“It is coming at us like a tsunami” is how pharmacist John Storey describes the heroin and opioid epidemic in Mississippi. He has seen this kind of drug abuse increase consistently and rapidly over recent years.

Dr. Randy Easterling, who sits on the state Board of Medical Licensure, said much of the increase has been fueled by drug manufacturers who continue to push opioid-based pain medications. This push comes despite more and more studies showing such pain relievers provide little more relief than a combination of acetaminophen and ibuprofen, according to Dr. Scott Hambleton, medical director of the Mississippi Physician Health Program.

And the numbers of opioid and heroin addiction and related deaths we are seeing in Mississippi are likely underreported, according to John Dowdy, incoming director of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics. So are the number of infants being impacted by this disaster, says Dr. Mobolaji Famuyide, medical director for the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Mississippi has seen great success in battling other threatening drug-related issues in the past, most notably the spread of crystal meth. When laws were changed to make it harder to obtain the over-the-counter drugs used in the manufacturing of crystal meth, the number of those addicted to and who died from the drug dropped significantly.

Solving the opioid problem, however, will be much more of a challenge. That’s why Mississippi doesn’t need to wait until it reaches epidemic levels here. Much can and should be done immediately.

So, what can we do? Here are a few ideas:

1. Require health care providers to check the state’s prescription monitoring program before prescribing narcotics. This will help doctors identify patients who are prescription shopping or who are getting prescriptions for non-diagnosed pain management.
2. Look at ways to increase funding for treatment to help those who are on this deadly cycle. Look to our congressional delegation — particularly Senate Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran — to fight for federal funds. And work with private institutions and nonprofits to seek grant money and utilize combined resources.
3. Set up a state task force of doctors, pharmacists, law enforcement and patient advocates who can bring commonsense ideas on curbing this problem. This issue is not solved just within law enforcement or the health care community. It will take a broad, coordinated approach.

Thankfully we do not see the effects of this horrible problem as prevalently throughout our state as in other states; however, all you have to do is talk to someone who has been impacted by it, who has seen a loved one fight it or who is battling it every day to get an idea of how scary our future could be if we do not act now.