National League of Cities’ James Brooks, writing in Texas Town & City, discusses the scope of the opioid epidemic, the value of data in fighting the crisis and provides several actions for officials at the local, state, and federal level.
“The number of opioid prescriptions being written is on the decline. Since a peak in 2010, the United States has seen a year after year reduction in the number of prescriptions for these painkillers through 2015. But, according to a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Thursday, that decline doesn’t tell the…
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“Counties are continuing to grapple with the widening scope of the opioid drug epidemic.
Another county has filed suit against a pharmaceutical company that marketed painkillers, while King County continues to search for locations for its safe injection sites. Meanwhile, a synthetic drug is raising the stakes for users and first responders.”
“Fed up that Missouri is the only state that doesn’t track the prescription and sale of opioids, some of its biggest cities and counties have created their own monitoring system to help combat the increasingly popular and highly addictive drugs. Forty-nine states have established prescription drug monitoring programs, or PDMPs, which require pharmacies to report…
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The Community Health Engagement Locations (CHELs) will be more than an alternative to taking drugs in public without the risk of overdose. They’ll be staffed with medical and counseling personnel and will represent a public health-oriented approach to the epidemic, complementing the criminal justice side that cracks down on dealers and drug traffickers. The task…
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