Posts Tagged ‘opioids’
President Obama, Overprescribing Isn’t the Only Reason for the Opioid Epidemic
President Barack Obama wrote in the January issue of the Harvard Law Review, “As their [prescription opioids] use has increased, so has their misuse.” This is true, but blaming only overprescribing of opioids for the current opioid crisis demonstrates a lack of understanding about the complexity of the problem. The putative argument President Obama…
Read MoreMisguided Repeal to Cure Opioid Crisis Ignores Patients’ Pain
Once again, I read the Intractable Pain Act (along with the section of it known as the “Pain Patient’s Bill of Rights”) which was passed by the Tennessee House and Senate in 2001 and repealed in 2015. I did not see anything in the legislation that supports the statement made by Knox News columnist Frank…
Read MoreMedia Reports About Opioids Have the Wrong Focus
The headline reads, “As prescription opioid addiction rises, help from doctors lags.” That belies the following statement by Washington Post reporters Scott Clement and Lenny Bernstein: “Despite the high rate of dependence, the poll finds that a majority of long-term opioid users say the drugs have dramatically improved their lives. Opioids relieve pain that is…
Read MoreWhat Is the Truth About Overdose Deaths?
In its 2015 Report Overview, the Clinton Foundation calls prescription drug abuse (leading to overdose) an imminent public health threat that kills “more people than motor vehicle accidents.” The CDC reports that, during 2014, a total of 47,055 drug overdose deaths occurred in the United States. Indeed, that is a large number of tragic…
Read MoreSolving the Opioid Crisis Won’t Be “Cheap, Quick, or Easy”
“Last Week Tonight” is a late-night television show that satirizes the news. Therefore, you probably wouldn’t expect the show’s host, John Oliver, to make the news. Yet he did (see Rolling Stone, Time, Newsweek, Slate, and more) when he did a segment about the opioid crisis. Using Humor to Discuss the Opioid Crisis Oliver tackled…
Read MoreTough Times Feed America’s Opioid Epidemic: What You Need To Know
The Heroin Epidemic in Huntington, W. VA CNN.com recently published a story called, “In America’s drug death capital: How heroin is scarring the next generation,” Wayne Drash and Max Blau, who reported the story, write intelligently about the heroin epidemic in Huntington, West Virginia. They tell the story the way it should be told. Drash…
Read More3 Reasons the New CDC Guidelines May Contribute to the Cost of Addiction
In the September 13 issue of Vice, Maia Szalavitz challenges the myth that the U.S. can solve the opioid crisis by reducing the supply. According to her biography published in Wikipedia, “[Szalavitz] has been awarded the American Psychological Association’s Division 50 Award for Contributions to the Addictions, the Media Award from the American College of…
Read MoreUsing Pulses Instead of Pills to Control Pain
By Guest Blogger Russ Izzo A growing number of people suffering from all kinds of debilitating pain are experiencing relief from TENS therapy, which stands for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation. This type of therapy may seem relatively new, but it’s actually been around for quite some time. If you can cast your mind back to around…
Read MoreIs Suboxone the New Kleenex®?
Confusion About Suboxone There is an interesting recent article in MEDPAGE TODAY titled “Suboxone Underused, Opioids Overused in Medicine.” To me, that is an oxymoron. As I’ll explain, the title does make sense if you’re trying to communicate to the lay public, but it is an ambiguous and seemingly contradictory statement. Since there’s already way…
Read MoreMost Opioid Addictions Start In Teen Years: What you Need to Know
Ninety Percent of All Drug Addictions Start in the Teens “Ninety percent of all drug addictions start in the teens — and 75 percent of prescription opioid misuse begins when (mainly young) people get pills from friends, family or dealers — not doctors. Opioids are rarely the first drug people misuse.” This is an incredibly…
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