Every day in Tennessee, at least 3 people die from an overdose related to opioids.  Sometimes users just do not want to go through opiate withdrawal.  Tennessee state has many users like this.

Opiates including prescription drugs such as Oxycodone, as well as illegal drugs like heroin.  These drugs are very addictive.  While opiates have been around for hundreds of years, health care providers try to limit their use due to concerns about addiction.

However, beginning in the 90s, a wide range of factors led to the increased use of prescription opiates, including the increase in attention to pain management as being a clinical goal, and the marketing of a new generation of addictive prescription opiates.  This rise in prescriptions was associated with an increase in the availability of illegal opiates, such as fentanyl and heroin.

How Can We Combat the Opioid Epidemic?

Addressing a health crisis like this is a complex undertaking.  We can work to prevent become from becoming addicted to opioids and also help people who have already begun misusing opiates to treat their addiction to the drugs and minimize the risk of harm or death.  There are four strategies.

Limit Prescription Opioids

In the last 15 years, physicians have been prescribing opiates at high rates than previously.  In some states, there is more than one prescription to opioids per person each year.  Some over prescribing is due to “pill mills”-providers who are unethical and who write prescriptions without clinical need.  Other times, patients can visit several prescribers to get prescription opioids.  In other cases, providers can use prescription opiates to combat pain, when small quantities or less potent drugs will work.

The overuse of prescription opiates keeps the epidemic fueled in two ways.  Firstly, it introduces patients to an addictive substance, which produces the risk of developing opioid use disorder.  Secondly, it creates a steady stream of opioids which can diverted from their intended purpose.

Reduce the Flow of Illegal Opioids

Many deaths from opioids are associated with illegal opioids like heroin and fentanyl.  Although there are not any simple solutions, communities have begun investing in funding law enforcement efforts which target large opioid distribution networks.

Collaborative efforts which work across borders are necessary to share information.  The government has helped facilitating intelligence being shared across agencies, which helps federal and local law enforcement agencies respond to trends.  Law enforcement agencies have been able to bring cases to drug trafficking organizations thanks to this shared information.

Promote Treatment

A number of treatment options exist to help people who already have opiate use disorders.  Expert believe that for some people, the most effective treatment is “medication assisted treatment” (MAT).  MAT involves taking drugs which are intended to prevent to misuse of opiates.  These drugs can reduce cravings and prevent opiates from getting a user high.  Some of the drugs which are involved in MAT are opiates themselves.

Only 17.5% of people who might benefit from specialized treatment for prescription opiate use received it in 2016.  Obstacles for treatment included a lack of insurance coverage for those who wanted it, difficulty finding providers, and an unwillingness to being treatment on the part of the addicted person.

Reducing Harm

Policymakers can look at harm reduction – meaning the mitigation of risk that opioid use disorder can cause.

Naloxone.  One of the most important ways of addressing harm reduction is the wide availability of Naloxone, a drug which can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose immediately.  Making Naloxone available to first responders and individuals can massively reduce the risk of death from an opioid overdose.

Prisons and jails.  People who were recently released from prison are forty time more likely to die of an opioid overdose than others.  Making Naloxone available to people about to be released from prison is a particularly useful harm reduction strategy.

Needle exchange.  Opioid misuse can involve IV drug use, which the leads to the transmission of infections such as HIV and Hepatitis C.  Making needles available to reduce the risk of users catching these diseases also means that users can become connected to vital health care services.  Needle exchange programs are able to link users with opioid use disorder to services for treatment, when they become ready to seek treatment.

If you are an opiate user and do not want to go through opiate withdrawal, Tennessee has many treatment centers available which can provide you with MAT, which reduces feelings of opiate withdrawal.  Tennessee opiate users should look to accessing treatment centers when they are ready to come off opiates.