http://www.11alive.com/news/pres-obama-joins-heroin-summit-panel-talks-solutions-to-addiction/108762803

The opioid problem in this country has been going on for years but it has been gaining attention in the press and it comes up in conversation a lot more. Now the president is even weighing in on the problem, and hopefully all this attention will start to turn the tide on the addiction and overdose epidemic.

President Obama went to the fifth annual National Prescription Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit yesterday and was part of a panel at the summit. The summit was put on by Operation UNITE, a Kentucky based anti-drug organization started in 2003. Kentucky has one of the highest rates of overdoses in the country.

He told listeners that the addiction issue needed to be thought of as a public health issue rather than purely a criminal issue, and that it affects everyone and not just particular groups of people.

He supported more funding for treatment and counseling services, especially in rural areas. He noted that in 85 percent of counties there are few or no facilities available for this kind of treatment. He also addressed the issue some people face when they find themselves without health insurance, and rather than try and pay for their prescriptions they turn to illegal drugs like heroin because they are cheaper than painkillers. He proposed adding $1 billion dollars to the budget to help support drug treatment centers across the country. He also proposed expanding health care coverage for abuse and mental health treatments and starting more needle exchange programs. He proposed grant programs for states to help them have more naloxone on hand and to train their first responders in using the potentially life-saving drug.

Also in the works is a report from the Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, which will address addiction, substance abuse and health effects. The hope is that the information in the report spur a response like the one that happened after the surgeon general released a report on smoking. After that report came out many people realized the dangers of smoking and tobacco use started to decline.

The Department of Justice is also stepping in to fight the epidemic, with a $7 million grant to help law enforcement in states with serious epidemics uncover the distribution and trafficking sources of heroin and painkillers. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is trying to pass a rule that would strengthen the mental health and substance abuse benefits for those on Medicaid or enrolled in the children’s health insurance program, and make them comparable to the way other kinds of medical diseases are treated. A number of medical schools are going to require students to study the recently released CDC opioid prescribing guidelines, which discourage physicians from prescribing opioids when they can because it has been more harmful than good for many patients.