“In every corner of our state, heroin and opiate drug addiction threaten us,” said the Governor of Vermont, Peter Shumlin, on January 8th of this year. In his headline-making speech, the governor devoted his entire 34-minute state of the address to a crisis of addiction that he referred to as “bubbling just beneath the surface.”
The number of deaths due to fatal heroin overdoses in the state almost doubled in the last year. According to the White House’s Office of National Drug Policy, this trend is not unique to Vermont.
Between 1999 and 2010, there has been a 45 percent increase in the number of deaths from heroin nationwide.
From Prescription Pain Pills to Heroin Addiction
Opiate-based medications like oxycontin and hydrocodone are painkillers often prescribed to those recovering from surgery or patients who have suffered a severe physical injury. The downside to these prescriptions is that users can unintentionally become addicted in some cases.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that in 2010, 12 million people admitted to using painkillers non-medically after their prescription ran out or without a prescription at all. For those addicted to opiate painkillers, heroin is often cheaper and easier to obtain after access to prescription medication has dried up.
In an interview on PBS, Ryan Grim, The Huffington Post’s Washington bureau chief and author of the book “This is Your Country On Drugs,” spoke about the growing problem. “Whether these were legitimate addicts or what to begin with, they’re addicts now. They go out and find heroin, they are inexperienced users, and it is a terrible combination.”
From Heroin Addiction to Prison
In his speech, Governor Shumlin stated that 80 percent of Vermont’s prison population is either jailed because of their addiction to opiates or are currently addicted.
In a later interview, he pointed out that the demographic for this crisis isn’t just those living in poverty. “…it also afflicts people who have huge opportunities and who are wealthy. So it crosses all economic lines.”
The nationwide statistics on inmates serving time related to non-violent, opiate-related crimes are difficult to decipher. There are, however, several staggering facts:
- Since 1980, and the beginning of the “war on drugs,” those serving time for drug offenses has increased twelvefold.
- 22 percent of all state and federal inmates in 2000, were convicted on drug charges.
- Of the 3,278 people serving life without parole in 2012 for non-violent crimes, 79 percent of those were for drug-related offenses, according to an American Civil Liberties Union report.
- More people die from drug overdoses in the United States than in motor vehicle accidents.
Addiction isn’t a choice, and many of these cases started with an actual medical need. The social stigma of either serving prison time for opiate-related troubles or being labeled a junkie can make it even more difficult for those that need treatment to seek it out.
From Heroin Addiction to Healing
Most state legislators seek to enact laws that will make it tougher to abuse, and, hopefully, overdose on prescription painkillers. What many experts are saying, though, is that an attitude change about how to approach this crisis is what’s needed.
“We have got to change our thinking about this disease. It is no different than cancer. It is no different than kidney disease,” says Shumlin. “When you’re sick and you need treatment, you have got to have it available to you.”
While the controversy about how to handle this epidemic rages on, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) went against its own advisors and approved Zohydro ER, a new high-dose narcotic painkiller. This medication will be the first hydrocodone-only opioid without any abuse-resistant technology, making the potential for addiction even greater.
Attorneys general from 28 states has asked that the FDA reconsider its approval of the medication.
Related:
Oxycodone and Hydrocodone Addiction Treatment
Safe Space in Boston Embraces Harm Reduction for Opioid Addiction
