Pictured l-r: Katie O’Donnell, Capt. Joe Shellhammer, Kiley Floren
At February’s Senior Education Network meeting, a panel of speakers featuring Katie O’Donnell (pictured left) with the Larimer County Health Department, Captain Joe Shellhamer (center), Commander of the Northern Colorado Drug Task Force, and Kiley Floren (right) with the Health District of Northern Larimer County discussed the opioid crisis in Larimer County.
Sadly as 60 Minutes TV program reported recently, over 30,000 Americans died from drug overdoes in 2016. The Colorado Medical Society reported nearly 500 Coloradoans died from drug overdoses in 2016. This is due from the drug opioid crisis reported on 60 Minutes and local TV stations in recent months. So why is Larimer County having this problem?
It began with Americans having pain problems and depression issues thus obtaining pain prescriptions from their doctor. Unfortunately, the doctors treated chronic pain versus short term pain, which led to the major addiction problem over the past several decades. The pharma industry told the medical community in the 1960s that opioids were safe and non-addictive. The big pharmas heavily promoted their pain killers to the medical community at medical conferences and doctor’s offices, which amounted to large profits.
By 2012 per FDA, 259 million opioid prescriptions were sold to Americans, slightly under the American total population of 300 million. However, the real problem is long term use of pain killers such as Hydrocondone, Oxycondone, and other similar prescribed pain killers cause an addiction problem that alters brain chemistry and ultimately patient behaviors.
The economic costs have increased substantially due to the opioid epidemic. Not only are employee and employer costs affected, but the medical costs in treating addiction, first responder’s costs, law enforcement costs, court costs, Medicare and Medicaid costs, and local government and medical community educational costs are becoming more expensive.
This addiction affects all ages and not easily treatable as most rehab patients are back on drugs within several months. Worse yet, many rehab patients are moving to heroin, because it’s hard to obtain prescribed drugs by doctors and the local drug cartels have cut costs to promote their illegal drugs. Heroin is becoming much cheaper than unused prescribed drugs on the black market.
There are three drug cartels in Larimer County according to Capt. Shellhammer, and they are now taking gift cards, thus making it harder to indict the criminals, as there is no money trail. However, Capt. Shellhammer says his task force is combating the cartels in other effective ways.
Another problem according to AARP is many new drug traffickers are senior citizens or their caregivers selling their unused pain killer prescriptions on the black market. The unused prescriptions bring in top dollar to enhance senior or caregiver’s income. After getting caught, many of these seniors or caregivers receive probation as first time drug traffickers, which likely compounds the illegal drug market.
60 Minutes reported that many Americans are changing from prescription drugs to illegal drugs as their doctors have clamped down on prescribing drugs in most states including Colorado and Larimer County in prescribing less addicting pain killers. But the lesser used prescription drugs still cost money. Since the drug addicts are using gift cards to buy heroin due to lower costs, the opioid problem is challenging to first responders and the medical community.
Another dangerous prescription drug, Fentanyl, is sometimes mixed with illegal drugs for more pain relief and causes drug overdoses and death. Most first responders carry Naxalone (Narcan), which prevents overdose deaths if applied in time.
According to the Larimer County Health Dept., education is key for patients and doctors to resolving the opioid crisis. Katie indicated 75% of new heroin users started with prescription drugs given by their doctors before moving to the black market or buying from the drug traffickers. She said Big Pharma mislead the medical community years ago on the potency and addiction problems on long term use. The medical community responded with a prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP), making it harder to get opioids in Colorado and prescribing either minimum or other less addicting prescriptions.
Because of the poor rehab statistics, relapses are much higher than expected and it takes about one year for treating most rehab patients. Most insurance plans only cover short term rehab programs, making drug rehab relapses much higher.
One of Katie’s goals is more education at all levels in schools and retirement communities.
Kiley indicated her organization at the Heath District is seeing higher suicide rates of 55% in Larimer County compared to the national average. She indicated Narcan has been very helpful in significantly reducing the overdose deaths in attempted suicides. Even though Narcan costs about $105 for two doses, it has been an effective tool in reducing drug overdoses.
One of Kiley’s goals is better education to the community in reducing suicides in Larimer County. Unfortunately, there are no support groups for drug rehab users, but Kiley would like to start one in Larimer County.
What is being done to reduce the opioid epidemic in America, Colorado, and specifically Larimer County? First. the Attorney General announced last month to have the DEA prosecute the pharmas and distributors in violation of FDA laws. Second, CDC is recommending new guidelines requesting doctors to drug test their patients before and during opioid therapy. Some patients visit multiple doctors to get extra opioid prescriptions, thus the new CDC guidelines. Third, the Colorado Medical Society is educating their medical community on prescribing and monitoring opioid prescriptions.
Fourth, first responders are preventing many drug overdose deaths with Narcan and other safety measures. Additionally, the local drug task force is reducing the efforts of the cartel drug traffickers and the black market.
Fifth, the rehab centers are using new methods in treating addiction to reduce relapses. And last, our local Health Department and Health Districts are educating the community on the use of opioids and where to get treatment for drug addiction. So hopefully, with all these new measures in reducing the opioid epidemic, we’ll see increased results very soon.
In addition, there is an opioid medical prevention and treatment group comprised of several rehab centers and medical alliances. Please call Katie O’Donnell at the Larimer County Health Department at 970-498-6750 for details.
~ Bob Larson is a photo-journalist for 50 Plus Marketplace News