How A Tough-On-Crime Politician’s Opioid Policy Shifted Toward Treatment Over Punishment
“Once you have the facts, it’s very clear to you," says Frank Guinta, a New Hampshire politician who used to have a single-minded focus of ridding the state of drug dealers. His view has shifted to seeing addiction as an illness rather than a crime.
Stat:
A Politician Dismissed Treatment As The Answer To Opioids. Now He See Addiction As A Disease
Frank Guinta was the kind of mayor who once walked into a seedy nightclub here wearing a bulletproof vest to show he was tough on crime. When he ran for Congress a third time and won his second term in 2014, he flatly dismissed treatment as the answer to the opioid epidemic in the Granite State. Instead, he wanted to get rid of the drug dealers. ... The Republican congressman now believes drug addiction is a disease, a lesson learned in the midst of a crisis that claimed more than 400 lives last year alone in New Hampshire. (Scott, 7/13)
In other news, the type of surgery can make a difference in if a patient becomes addicted to painkillers, the surgeon general continues his travels speaking out against the epidemic and a federal judge is cracking down on crooked doctors —
KQED:
Study: Opiate Addiction More Likely After Certain Surgeries
The chance that you’ll get hooked on painkillers after surgery is low — only about five in a thousand people do, according to a new Stanford study. But researchers found that the type of surgery can make a difference. “The surgeries that were at high risk were knee replacements, breast surgeries, hip replacements and open gallbladder surgeries.” says Dr. Eric Sun, anesthesiologist and lead author on the study, published Monday in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. He says these procedures, which can involve particularly painful post-operative recovery, were about twice as likely to lead to chronic opioid use. (McCLurg, 7/12)
Cleveland Plain Dealer:
U.S. Surgeon General Says Ohio Needs More Treatment Facilities For Opioid Addicts
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said Tuesday that more treatment facilities must be opened to help opioid addicts overcome a disease that is killing scores of Ohioans every month. Murthy said plans for medication-assisted treatment centers are often met with resistance from local residents concerned about bringing addicts into their communities. But he said drugs such as buprenorphine and Vivitrol are effective tools in fighting addition. (Ross, 7/12)
Detroit Free Press:
Judge Fed Up With Crooked Doctors In Metro Detroit, Locks One More Up
U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts, who sentenced Dr. Oscar Linares to 57 months in prison for running a multimillion-dollar pill mill operation that fed drug addicts, not only lambasted the physician for his actions. She vented about all the criminal activity she's seen in recent years within the health care profession. (Baldas, 7/12)
