National Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit April 17-20, 2017 | Atlanta
Prevention Track Breakout Sessions Announced!
Descriptions of the six Prevention Track breakout sessions to be offered at the 2017 National Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit have been announced.
2.1 million people initiated misuse of Rx pain relievers and 135,000 people initiated use of heroin in the previous year, according to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Opioid (including Rx pain relievers and heroin) overdoses cost 28,000 people their lives in 2014 — more than any year on record — according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The societal costs of illicit drug abuse — including health care, crime and lost productivity — totaled $193 billion, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. In contrast, every $1 invested in prevention can save $2 to $20, according to the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America. The Prevention Track will consider how to prevent Rx drug and heroin abuse, as well as their associated harms, such as overdose deaths. Presentations will cover best practices in preventing initial substance use, research to craft communication and social media campaigns, study drug trends and response, and effective youth prevention programs, including peer-to-peer models.
Disclaimer: Articles and links within articles do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the National Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit or Operation UNITE.
Drug overdose deaths nearly tripled during 1999–2014. In 2014, among 47,055 drug overdose deaths, 61% involved an opioid. During 2013–2014, deaths associated with the most commonly prescribed opioids (natural/semisynthetic opioids) continued to increase slightly; however, the rapid increase in deaths appears to be driven by heroin and synthetic opioids other than methadone. From 2014 to 2015, the death rate from synthetic opioids other than methadone, which includes fentanyl, increased by 72.2%, and heroin death rates increased by 20.6%. Rates of death involving heroin and synthetic opioids other than methadone increased across all demographic groups, regions, and in numerous states.
OxyContin is a dying business in America. With the nation in the grip of an opioid epidemic that has claimed more than 200,000 lives, the U.S. medical establishment is turning away from painkillers. Top health officials are discouraging primary-care doctors from prescribing them for chronic pain, saying there is no proof that they work long-term and substantial evidence that they put patients at risk. Prescriptions for OxyContin have fallen nearly 40% since 2010, meaning billions of dollars in lost revenue for its Connecticut manufacturer, Purdue Pharma. So the company's owners, the Sackler family, adopted a new strategy: Put the painkiller that set off the U.S. opioid crisis into medicine cabinets around the world.
For more than two years, Lance Crowder was having severe abdominal pain and vomiting, and no local doctor could figure out why. Finally, an emergency room physician in Indianapolis had an idea. The answer was cannabinoid hypermemesis syndrome, or CHS. It’s caused by heavy, long-term use of various forms of marijuana. For unclear reasons, the nausea and vomiting are relieved by hot showers or baths.
A three-month grand jury investigation into corruption in the drug treatment industry — believed to be the first in the country – uncovered evidence of sexual abuse, human trafficking and forced labor in addition to patient brokering and insurance fraud. The 37-page report proposes 15 sweeping proposals to change laws and increase criminal penalties for the exploitation of addicts seeking recovery in a $1 billion local industry propelled by a nationwide heroin epidemic, Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg announced December 12. Now, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, wants the federal government to see whether the grand jury report should change laws across the country.
