Charts from the Northern Kentucky Independence District Health Department
By Mark Hansel
NKyTribune Contributor
A two-day opiate summit that takes place later this month at the Mets Center in Erlanger will focus on the toll addiction has taken on communities throughout the region.
The 2015 Regional Opiate Summit is being coordinated by Cincinnati-based Interact for Health and will include representatives from agencies in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.
Ann Barnum, a senior program officer with Interact for Health, said a regional approach is necessary because the problem of opiate abuse and addiction is widespread.
“This is not a problem with a single solution,” Barnum said. “We will have four keynote speakers and a number of sessions that will focus on everything from prevention through supply reduction, and the criminal just response, to harm reduction and advocacy.”
The summit will also address the correlation between abuse of prescription opioids and the dramatic spike in heroin use and overdose deaths throughout the region.
The Clermont County Mental Health and Recovery Board, the Northern Kentucky Heroin Impact Response Task Force, and the University Of Cincinnati College Of Pharmacy are among the agencies that have helped coordinate the event.
Jim Thaxton, regional coordinator for the Northern Kentucky Heroin Impact Response Task Force, said research indicates that between 20 and 23 percent of people are predisposed to opioid addiction. He said the problem of abuse and addiction did not happen overnight, nor will a solution.
“Years ago, when pill mills were rampant throughout our area, some people became dependent on opioids, such as oxycontin, vicodin and percocet,” Thaxton said. “When those pill mills were shut down, it became challenging, difficult and expensive to maintain that addiction and heroin came in and filled the gap.”
Those addicted to easily accessible prescription opioids were suddenly faced with paying $20 to $30 for a single pill that they may need to take several times a day to feed their habit.
Heroin is not nearly as expensive.
“It is cheaper, and in most cases, much more addictive and powerful than prescription medication,” Thaxton said.
There are also strict guidelines for the manufacture of prescription opioids, so every vicodin or oxycontin with an identical dosage is going to be basically the same. There are no such regulations for heroin.
“When you are dealing with heroin, it could be pure or it could be cut with anything, so you don’t know what you are getting,” Thaxton said. “Dealers brand (types of heroin) and one that has been identified as being responsible for a lot of overdose deaths has the brand name of ‘Toe-tag.’”
People who are thinking clearly would avoid something with such an ominous moniker, but Thaxton said addicts are actually looking for this because they want the strongest stuff available.
Summit organizers say a comprehensive approach that includes legislation, education, prevention and treatment is needed to gain the upper hand on the opioid addiction epidemic.
Steve Walkenhorst, Vice President of Patient Services at the Center for Chemical Addictions Treatment (CCAT) in Cincinnati, said that while the task is daunting, it is not hopeless.
“Every day we see the devastation of addiction, but we also have to promote and show the other side, which is recovery,” Walkenhorst said. “People hear that the only way anyone gets cured is to die and that’s not true. A lot of people will die but there are also many people in recovery that are living great lives.”
The summit, which is open to the public, is designed to benefit those impacted by the opioid epidemic and, in this region, that could be anyone.
Addiction treatment clinicians, physicians and nurses, policy makers, family service providers, police, firefighters/EMS and members of the general public are encouraged to attend.
The summit takes place Mon., Feb. 23, and Tues., Feb. 24, at the METS Center, 3861 Olympic Blvd., in Erlanger. The cost to attend is $100 per day or 150 for both days.
For more information, or to register, go to opiate summit.
