Showing posts with label Prescription drug. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prescription drug. Show all posts

Friday, October 3, 2014

Governor McAuliffe and Attorney General Herring Announce Agenda for Virginia Heroin and Prescription Drug Summit

Police State 2- The Takeover
Police State 2- The Takeover (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Beware The Coming Police State:

Governor McAuliffe and Attorney General Herring today released the full agenda for the Virginia Heroin and Prescription Drug Summit, to be held on October 2, 2014 in Charlottesville, and hosted by Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Brian Moran and Attorney General Mark Herring. The summit will include law enforcement representatives from the local, state, and federal levels, and will feature Michael Botticelli, the Acting Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy, as the keynote speaker.

Director Botticelli has more than two decades of experience supporting Americans who have been affected by substance use disorders.  Prior to joining ONDCP, Mr. Botticelli served as Director of the Bureau of Substance Abuse Services at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, where he successfully expanded innovative and nationally recognized prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery services for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. During the summit, Director Botticelli will discuss the federal government’s role in working with localities to reduce drug trafficking and abuse, and resources available to combat this issue.

The Virginia Heroin and Prescription Drug Summit is held by the Virginia Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security and the Office of the Attorney General, with the goal of addressing the  growing and dangerous epidemic of prescription opioid and heroin abuse in the Commonwealth. Governor McAuliffe also recently signed Executive Order 29, establishing the Governor’s Task Force on Prescription Drug and Heroin Abuse, co-chaired by Secretary of Health and Human Resources Bill Hazel, and Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Brian Moran. The order asked the task force to suggest strategies that will raise public awareness about the dangers of misuse and abuse of prescription drugs, train health care providers on best practices for pain management, identify treatment options and alternatives to incarceration for people with addiction, and promote the safe storage and disposal of prescription drugs. The recommendations outlined and issues discussed in the Charlottesville summit will be factored into the overall recommendations by the task force.

The full agenda is below.

Virginia Heroin and Prescription Drug Summit

October 2, 2014

Charlottesville Doubletree Hotel

AGENDA

8:30 a.m.         Opening Remarks           

                        The Honorable Brian Moran
                        Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security
                               
            The Honorable Mark Herring
            Attorney General            

9:00 a.m.          Plenary Session
Personal Impact: Stories of Tragedy and Survival
               
Moderator:        Phillip Figura
Assistant Attorney General

Panelists:
Teresa Nelson, Stephens City, Virginia
Carolyn Weems, Virginia Beach, Virginia
Honesty Brackett Liller, Richmond, Virginia


10:30 a.m.       Plenary Session                                                                                               
Heroin by the Numbers: Data in Virginia
                               
Moderator:        Victoria Cochran
Deputy Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security

Panelists:
William Gormley, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Examiner, Virginia Department of Health
Linda Jackson, Director, Virginia Department of Forensic Science
Jayne Thatcher, Ph.D., Toxicology Group SupervisorVirginia Department of Forensic Science
Mellie Randall, Director, Office of Substance Abuse Services, Virginia Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Services
Captain Gary Settle, Division Commander, Virginia State Police, Culpeper Field Office
Gregory Cherundolo, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration


12:15 p.m.        Keynote Speaker:           
The Honorable Michael Botticelli
Acting Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy
                               
1:00 p.m.          Director Botticelli, Attorney General Herring, and Secretary Moran media availability

1:15 p.m.          Plenary Session
Policy and Legislation: Strategies for Virginia
                               
Moderator:        Marc Birnbaum
Assistant Attorney General

Panelists:
The Honorable Timothy Heaphy, U.S. Attorney, Western District of Virginia
Tonya Vincent, Deputy Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security  
The Honorable Nancy Parr, Commonwealth’s Attorney, City of Chesapeake
Chief Timothy Longo, Sr., Charlottesville Police Department
The Honorable Timothy Carter, Sheriff, Shenandoah County and Chairman, Northwest Virginia Regional Drug/Gang Task Force

2:30 p.m.         Regional Breakout Sessions

4:00 p.m.         Regional Reports and Recommendations                                            
                               
4:30 p.m.         Adjourn

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Governor McAuliffe Signs Executive Order Establishing the Governor’s Task Force on Prescription Drug and Heroin Abuse

Ritalin
 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Governor Terry McAuliffe today signed Executive Order 29 establishing the Governor’s Task Force on Prescription Drug and Heroin Abuse.  The task force will recommend immediate steps to address a growing and dangerous epidemic of prescription opioid and heroin abuse in the Commonwealth.  The order asks the task force to suggest strategies that will raise public awareness about the dangers of misuse and abuse of prescription drugs, train health care providers on best practices for pain management, identify treatment options and alternatives to incarceration for people with addiction, and promote the safe storage and disposal of prescription drugs.  The task force will also seek to expand use of the rescue drug, naloxone, which has been shown to prevent death from overdose, and leverage the Prescription Monitoring Program to reduce abuse of prescription drugs.  Overall, through these efforts, the task force will seek a measurable reduction in deaths from prescription drug and heroin abuse.
“Prescription painkiller and heroin abuse is a nationwide problem, and is spreading rapidly across the Commonwealth,” said Governor McAuliffe.“We must take immediate action in Virginia, or these terrible trends will continue to ravage our families, our businesses and our economy.  As part of my plan, A Healthy Virginia, I am creating this statewide task force so we can identify and implement strategies that will prevent drug abuse and help people with addiction get the treatment they need to recover.  I am confident that by working together to address this growing problem we will be able to make our communities safer, save lives, and put us on a pathway toward building a new Virginia economy.”
Governor McAuliffe was joined by Senator Tim Kaine at the announcement, who noted: “I am grateful to Governor McAuliffe for forming a task force to address the prescription drug and heroin abuse epidemic that is threatening the health and safety of our communities. This summer, I witnessed firsthand the impact of addiction and the importance of recovery as I spoke with Virginians across the Commonwealth, including at a drug court graduation in Salem and a Project REVIVE training session in Lebanon. I’m proud to see Virginia taking innovative approaches to combat this crisis and I am committed to being a partner at the federal level.”
The Task Force will be co-chaired by Dr. Bill Hazel, Secretary of Health and Human Resources, and Brian Moran, Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security, and will be composed of representatives from the Office of the Attorney General, the legislature, and the judiciary, as well as relevant state and local agencies, law enforcement, health professionals, community advocates, and individuals with personal experience with addiction.
“We recognize that we cannot simply arrest our way out of the serious opioid and heroin problem we face,” stated Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Brian Moran.  “Using a collaborative approach that addresses public health and public safety, we can save lives, reduce crime and target scarce law enforcement resources on dealers and traffickers”

Secretary of Health and Human Resources Bill Hazel added: “Health care providers have been effectively engaged in the effort to discourage misuse of prescription opioids.  The rise of heroin abuse should not discourage us, but inspire us to work harder, in coordination with our partners to prevent heroin addiction and overdose death. The work we began last year to reduce prescription drug abuse offers a sound foundation for our future efforts.”


The full text of Executive Order 29 is below.

NUMBER TWENTY NINE (2014)


ESTABLISHING THE GOVERNOR’S TASK FORCE ON
PRESCRIPTION DRUG AND HEROIN ABUSE


            Nationally, prescription drug and heroin abuse has reached epidemic proportions. Since 2000, deaths from prescription drug overdoses in Virginia have more than doubled, while deaths from heroin overdoses have doubled in the past two years. Though prescription drugs are generally safe when used as prescribed, the misuse and abuse of prescription painkillers (opioids) can lead to addiction, and even death. In addition, individuals that are addicted to opioids are shifting to heroin, as prescription drugs become less available.

            Prescription opioid and heroin abuse has also led to an increased burden on law enforcement and elevated health care costs from drug-related emergency department visits and treatment admissions. While the numbers of Virginians requiring treatment for addiction to drugs are substantial, resources for treating those who are addicted are limited. It is vital to the Commonwealth’s interests to take immediate steps to reverse this dangerous trend of abuse. Therefore, I am directing relevant state and local agencies, health and behavioral health care professionals and organizations, law enforcement, and other stakeholders to work together toward reducing prescription opioid and heroin addiction, curtailing related criminal activity, and enhancing the health, safety, and well-being of all Virginians.

Establishment of the Task Force

            Accordingly, by virtue of the authority vested in me as Governor under Article V of the Constitution of Virginia and under the laws of the Commonwealth, including, but not limited to §§ 2.2-134 and 2.2-135 of the Code of Virginia, and subject to my continuing and ultimate authority and responsibility to act in such matters, I hereby establish the Governor’s Task Force on Prescription Drug and Heroin Abuse (“Task Force”).

            The Task Force will serve in an advisory role, in accordance with § 2.2-2100 of the Code of Virginia, and will be responsible for recommending short-term and long-term measures that can be taken to tackle prescription drug and heroin abuse and addiction, using best practices and evidence-based strategies.
Composition of the Task Force

            The Secretary of Health and Human Resources and Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security will serve as Co-Chairs. The Task Force will be composed of representatives from the Office of the Attorney General, legislature, and judiciary, as well as relevant state and local agencies, law enforcement, health and behavioral health care professionals, providers, community advocates, and individuals with personal experience, as appointed by the Governor. The Governor may appoint any other person(s) deemed necessary and proper to carry out the assigned functions.

Key Objectives

            The Task Force will offer recommendations to meet the Commonwealth’s objectives listed under the following five major areas: 1) education, 2) treatment, 3) data and monitoring, 4) drug storage and disposal, and 5) enforcement. 

            The Task Force will also recommend specific metrics to be used to track progress in each of these five areas, and will suggest a target for each area with a date by which the goals should be met.
Overall, the Task Force will seek measures for the reduction in deaths from prescription drug and heroin abuse within 5 years.

1.     Education
·       Raise public awareness about the dangers of misuse and abuse of prescription drugs
·       Distribute information about appropriate use, secure storage, and disposal of prescription drugs
·       Train health care providers regarding best practices for opioid prescribing, pain management, the use of the Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP), and identification and treatment of individuals at risk of substance abuse through screening, intervention, and referral tools
·       Train first responders to more effectively respond to calls involving overdose, and use evidence-based interventions to reduce overdose deaths

2.     Treatment
·       Improve access to and availability of treatment services
·       Foster best practices and adherence to standards for treatment of individuals addicted to opioids
·       Strengthen and expand the capacity of Virginia’s health workforce to respond to substance abuse treatment needs, including encouraging health professions schools and continuing education programs to provide more education about how to identify and treat substance abuse

3.     Data and Monitoring
·       Share and integrate data among relevant licensing boards, state and local    agencies, law enforcement, courts, health care providers and organizations,     and programs such as the PMP, in order to clarify and address public safety and public health concerns, understand emerging trends, and utilize data-driven decision-making to mitigate harm 

4.     Storage and Disposal
·       Advance effective solutions that lead to safe storage and proper disposal of potentially dangerous prescription drugs

5.     Enforcement
·       Identify and promote evidence-based best practices and strategies across the criminal justice system to address public safety risks and treatment needs of individuals with opioid addiction, training in the use of life saving interventions, expanded alternatives to incarceration, including drug courts, and cross-system collaboration to improve access to and the availability of treatment
Staffing

            Staff support for the Task Force will be furnished by the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Resources and the Office of the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security, and such other agencies and offices as designated by the Governor. The Task Force will meet upon the call of the Chair at least four times per year. The Task Force will provide initial recommendations to the Governor on or before December 31, 2014, a comprehensive implementation plan by June 30, 2015, and any additional reports as necessary.

Effective Date

            This Executive Order shall be effective upon its signing and, pursuant to §§ 2.2-134 and   2.2-135 of the Code of Virginia, shall remain in full force and effect for a year from its signing or until superseded or rescinded. 

            Given under my hand and under the Seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia this 26th day of September, 2014.






Terence R. McAuliffe, Governor






Attest:             _______________________________________
                        Levar M. Stoney, Secretary of the Commonwealth


Friday, June 6, 2014

Prescription Painkillers Tagged as Gateway Drug to Heroin

Seal of the United States Office of National D...Seal of the United States Office of National Drug Control Policy, a part of the Executive Office of the President. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)



By Dr. Mercola
According to a recent report commissioned by the Office of National Drug Control Policy,1 as many as 1.5 million Americans were chronic heroin users in 2010. Such statistics add further fuel to concerns about rising narcotics abuse and drug-related deaths.
Over the past five years alone, heroin deaths have increased by 45 percent2--an increase that officials blame on the rise of addictive prescription drugs such as Vicodin, OxyContin, Percocet, codeine, and Fentora, all of which are opioids (derivatives of opium).
According to Gil Kerlikowske, director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy,3 approximately 100 Americans died from drug overdoses each day in 2010.
Prescription painkillers were responsible for 16,600 deaths that year, and heroin was involved in about 3,000 deaths. (Meanwhile, cocaine use decreased by about 50 percent between 2002 and 2010.)
The reason for the resurgence of heroin is in large part due to it being less expensive than its prescription counterparts, and US officials now warn that narcotic painkillers are a driving force in the rise of substance abuse and lethal overdoses. According to the US Justice Department, prescription opiates and heroin are two of the most lethal substances available.

Prescription Narcotics—A Driving Force in Rising Substance Abuse

This connection finally received some media attention following the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman,4 a 46-year-old Oscar-winning actor. He died from heroin overdose on February 2. Last year, Hoffman entered rehab when addiction to prescription painkillers led him to switch to heroin.
US Attorney General Eric Holder recently announced his office is taking steps to address the problem head-on. This effort includes5 but is not limited to tracking drug overdose trends, educating health care professionals and the public about prescription drug abuse, and promoting programs shown to prevent such abuse.
The federal government will also require manufacturers of extended-release and long-acting opioids to provide prescribers with educational programs explaining the risks and benefits of opioid therapy, and how to select appropriate candidates for such therapy. Also, as reported by Reuters:6
"As part of that campaign, Holder reiterated the Obama administration's call for more law enforcement agencies to train and equip personnel with an overdose-reversal medication called naloxone... Holder said 17 states and the District of Columbia have amended their laws to increase access to naloxone, a blocking agent that can reverse the effects of an overdose and help restore breathing."

Doctors Are the Primary Opium Pushers of the 21st Century

According to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine,7 while most opioid drug abusers obtain the drug from a friend or relative, (23 percent pay for them; 26 percent get them for free), individuals who are at greatest risk for drug abuse are just as likely to get theirs from a doctor's prescription.
Previous drug abuse prevention programs have primarily focused on those who get their hands on opioids without a prescription. You may recall ads from previous years promoting the safe storage and disposal of prescription medication.
But such efforts have completely missed those at greatest risk for a drug overdose, i.e. those who use such drugs per doctor's orders. Twenty-seven percent of the highest-risk users get their drugs from their doctor even when they're using the drug nonmedically for 200 or more days per year... CDC Director Tom Frieden M.D., M.P.H recently echoed the study's authors when he said that:8
"Many abusers of opioid pain relievers are going directly to doctors for their drugs. Health care providers need to screen for abuse risk and prescribe judiciously by checking past records in state prescription drug monitoring programs. It's time we stop the source and treat the troubled."
Another JAMA study9 notes that, of the drug overdose deaths occurring in Tennessee between 2003 and 2010, more were caused by prescription drugs than heroin and cocaine combined. Incredibly, between 2007 and 2011, one-thirdof the population of Tennessee filled at least one prescription for an opioid each year... According to the authors:
"High-risk use of prescription opioids is frequent and increasing in Tennessee and is associated with increased overdose mortality. Use of prescription drug–monitoring program data to direct risk-reduction measures to the types of patients overrepresented among overdose deaths might reduce mortality associated with opioid abuse."

Doctors Are Prescribing More Sedatives Than Ever

In related news, preliminary research10 presented at the 2014 meeting of the American Academy of Pain Medicine in Phoenix, Arizona found that 12.6 percent of all primary care visits made by Americans between 2002 and 2009 involved prescriptions for sedatives and/or narcotic painkillers (opioids). The study also found that:
  • The number of prescriptions for sedative drugs rose by 12.5 percent a year
  • Patients receiving a narcotic painkiller were 4.2 times more likely to receive a second prescription for a sedative
  • The number of joint prescriptions of opioids and sedatives also increased by 12 percent a year in that time frame
  • Prescription sedatives and narcotic painkillers are responsible for at least 30 percent of narcotic painkiller-related deaths
  • Besides deaths caused by overdose, other risks associated with sedative use include falls in the elderly, emergency room visits, and drug dependence
According to co-author Dr. Ming-Chih Kao, a clinical assistant professor at Stanford University Medical Center:11 "Doctors need to be better educated about the risks of combining the two medications, and there needs to be better coordination between those who prescribe narcotic painkillers (often primary care doctors or pain specialists) and those who prescribe sedatives (often primary care doctors or psychiatrists)."

FDA Clamps Down on Painkiller Prescriptions, But Approves New Pure Hydrocodone Product

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently recommended tighter controls on painkiller prescriptions,12, 13 and has announced its intention to reclassify hydrocodone-containing painkillers from a Schedule III to a Schedule II drug. The drug schedule system classifies medications based on their potential for abuse and addiction, as well as other medical criteria. The reclassification will affect how hydrocodone-containing drugs can be prescribed and refilled. Doctors will only be allowed to prescribe a 90-day supply of the drug per prescription, and they will no longer be permitted to phone in refills. 
Rather, the patient has to bring the prescription with them to the pharmacy. The new regulations are expected to take effect sometime this year. Ironically enough, while talking about the need for stricter controls and less addictive painkillers, it recently approved the first drug containing pure hydrocodone for the US market, called Zohydro ER (Zogenix). All other hydrocodone-containing painkillers on the market are mixed with other non-addictive ingredients.

Prescription Medications Are the New Gateway Drugs

Many are still under the illusion that prescription drugs are somehow safer than street drugs, but it's important to realize that prescription medications like hydrocodone and oxycodone are opioid derivatives—just like heroin. Heroin is actually diacetylmorphine and much stronger than morphine. A perfect example of this nonchalance can be seen in statistics14 showing that more than 14 percent of pregnant women are prescribed opioid drugs during their pregnancy...
As explained by Dr. Wilson Compton,15 deputy director of the US National Institute on Drug Abuse, heroin, morphine, hydrocodone, and oxycodone "are all classified as opioids because they exert their effect by attaching to the opioid receptor found in our brain and spinal cord."
They also create a temporary feeling of euphoria, followed by dysphoria, which can easily lead to addiction. Some people end up taking increasingly larger doses in order to regain the euphoric effect, or escape the unhappiness caused by withdrawal. Others find they need to continue taking the drugs not only to reduce withdrawal symptoms but to simply feel normal. Opioids also depress your heart rate and breathing. Large doses can cause sedation and slowed breathing to the point that breathing stops altogether, resulting in death.16

13 Non-Drug Solutions for Pain Relief

Considering the risks, I strongly recommend exhausting your options before resorting to a narcotic pain reliever. I believe thereare better, viable alternatives. If you are suffering from pain, whether acute or chronic, I recommend working with a knowledgeable health care practitioner to determine what's really triggering your pain, and then address the underlying cause.
Remember, along with exposing you to potentially deadly risks, medications only provide symptomatic relief. They do NOT address the underlying cause of your pain. The following options provide excellent pain relief without any of the health hazards that prescription (and even over-the-counter) painkillers carry. So if you're in pain, try these first, before even thinking about prescription painkillers of any kind.
  1. Eliminate or radically reduce processed foods, grains, and processed sugars from your diet. Avoiding grains and processed sugars will lower your insulin and leptin levels and decrease insulin and leptin resistance, which is one of the most important reasons why inflammatory prostaglandins are produced. That is why stopping sugar and sweets is so important to controlling your pain and other types of chronic illnesses.
  2. Optimize your production of vitamin D by getting regular, appropriate sun or safe tanning bed exposure, which will work through a variety of different mechanisms to reduce your pain.
  3. Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is a drug-free approach for pain management of all kinds. EFT borrows from the principles of acupuncture, in that it helps you balance out your subtle energy system. It helps resolve underlying, often subconscious, negative emotions that may be exacerbating your physical pain. By stimulating (tapping) well-established acupuncture points with your fingertips, you rebalance your energy system, which tends to dissipate pain.
  4. Astaxanthin is one of the most effective fat-soluble antioxidants known. It has very potent anti-inflammatory properties and in many cases works far more effectively than anti-inflammatory drugs. Higher doses are typically required and one may need 8 mg or more per day to achieve this benefit.
  5. Ginger: This herb has potent anti-inflammatory activity and offers pain relief and stomach-settling properties. Fresh ginger works well steeped in boiling water as a tea or grated into vegetable juice.
  6. Curcumin: In a study of osteoarthritis patients, those who added 200 mg of curcumin a day to their treatment plan had reduced pain and increased mobility.17 A past study also found that a turmeric extract composed of curcuminoids blocked inflammatory pathways, effectively preventing the overproduction of a protein that triggers swelling and pain.18
  7. Boswellia: Also known as boswellin or "Indian frankincense," this herb contains specific active anti-inflammatory ingredients. This is one of my personal favorites as I have seen it work well with many rheumatoid arthritis patients.
  8. Bromelain: This enzyme, found in pineapples, is a natural anti-inflammatory. It can be taken in supplement form but eating fresh pineapple, including some of the bromelain-rich stem, may also be helpful.
  9. Cetyl myristoleate (CMO): This oil, found in fish and dairy butter, acts as a "joint lubricant" and an anti-inflammatory. I have used this for myself to relieve ganglion cysts and a mild annoying carpal tunnel syndrome that pops up when I type too much on non-ergonomic keyboards. I used a topical preparation for this.
  10. Evening Primrose, black currant, and borage oils: These contain the essential fatty acid gamma linolenic acid (GLA), which is useful for treating arthritic pain.
  11. Cayenne cream: Also called capsaicin cream, this spice comes from dried hot peppers. It alleviates pain by depleting the body's supply of substance P, a chemical component of nerve cells that transmits pain signals to your brain.
  12. Methods such as yoga, Foundation Training, acupuncture, meditation,19 hot and cold packs, and other mind-body techniques can also result in astonishing pain relief without any drugs.
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