Inmates Are Dying With Disturbing Frequency From Opioid Withdrawal
What makes the growing number of people dying in jails troubling to advocates is that, while very unpleasant, withdrawal is not often life-threatening. In other news, voters want to see the opioid epidemic addressed by the national parties' convention platforms while more coverage of the crisis comes out of the states.
The Associated Press:
Advocates Fear More Heroin Withdrawal Deaths In Jails
In the days following her 18-year-old daughter’s first arrest on heroin charges, Stephanie Moyer took solace in thinking she would be safe in jail until she got into a treatment program. However, Victoria “Tori” Herr sounded disoriented on a call home three days later. She feared she was dying and begged for something to drink, her mother said. Herr, who had a 10-bag-a-day habit, collapsed following days of severe vomiting and diarrhea at the Lebanon County Correctional Facility. She spent five days in the hospital, then died on Easter Sunday 2015. Her case is one of at least a half-dozen deaths nationwide during the last two years involving jail heroin withdrawal, and advocates fear the number will grow given the nation’s heroin crisis. (Dale, 7/11)
Orlando Sentinel:
Jail Hopes Program Helps Heroin-Addicted Inmates Get Clean
The program, recommended by the Orange County Heroin Task Force, will link him to addiction counseling, treatment after jail and therapy that includes a once-a-month injection of Vivitrol, a brand-name form of naltrexone. The non-addictive drug blocks the euphoric effects of heroin. (Hudak, 7/11)
Bloomberg:
Painkiller Abuse Epidemic Awaits A Place On U.S. Party Platforms
Winning a mention of the opioid epidemic, which killed about 28,000 Americans in 2014, might not be too tough a goal were it not for the thousands of other people who want a few sentences of their own in the platforms on subjects from health care to criminal justice. (Keane, 7/12)
St. Louis Public Radio:
Looking At Root Causes Of Opioid Addiction In The U.S.: ‘We As Physicians Aren’t Properly Educated’
In U.S. medical schools, a total of nine hours is required in pain management training for doctors. That’s 0.3% of total time in medical school and, to compare, veterinarian schools spend more than 500x more time spent learning to treat pain in animals. That’s according to a study conducted by Johns Hopkins in 2011 and cited by Dr. Michael Bottros, the director of acute pain service at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. (Moffitt, 7/11)
New Hampshire Public Radio:
N.H. Medical Examiner: At Least 161 Drug Overdoses So Far In 2016
The latest numbers from the New Hampshire Office of the Chief Medical Examiner show that at least 161 people have fatally overdosed so far in 2016. Officials are anticipating that those numbers will continue to rise in the months ahead, and the state is projecting at least 494 overdose deaths by the end of the year. (McDermot, 7/11)
