Alabama No. 1 in America for prescription opioid use
Alabama’s use of prescription opioids reached the highest in the country last year — 5.8 million prescriptions were written in 2015. Meanwhile, companies creating the prescription painkillers and their advocates have contributed more than $539,350 to Alabama candidates, and since 2006 have hired on average 18 lobbyists annually in the state to push their policies. Alabamians receive more prescription opioids per person than residents of any other state in the country, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — equating to a rate of 1.2 prescriptions per person. By comparison, the national per capita use was 0.71 in 2015. A joint investigation by The Associated Press and the Center for Public Integrity found organizations spent $880 million and hired an annual average of 1,350 lobbyists in state capitals around the country from 2006 through 2015. In contrast, groups seeking limits on opioid prescriptions spent about $4 million — more than 200 times less. Overdose deaths from prescription painkillers have skyrocketed nationwide since 2000. In recent years, the use of opioid pain relievers such as OxyContin, Percocet, and Lortab have been particularly common in the Yellowhammer State, contributing to the 723 drug-related deaths in 2014. In fact, there were 5,128 deaths from overdoses in Alabama from 2006 through 2014. The state’s death rate per 100,000 in 2014 was 14.9. The number of overdose deaths soared 82 percent from 2006 to 2014. However, the overdose deaths aren’t strictly limited to opioids, but the CDC has indicated prescription opioids and heroin account for the majority of drug deaths in the state.
Alabama teacher suspended over test questions about drugs, prostitutes
An Alabama teacher is on leave after giving middle school students a test with math questions about prostitutes, drugs and guns, a school official said Wednesday. Rena Philips, a spokeswoman for Mobile County’s public schools, said the educator from Burns Middle School was placed on administrative leave after a parent complained. The teacher’s name isn’t being made public, Phillips said. WALA-TV quoted parent Erica Hall as saying the test was given to her son’s eighth-grade language arts class on Friday. “My son, he took a picture of it in class and he texted it to me. I couldn’t believe it,” Hall said. Hall said students thought the quiz was a joke, but the teacher “told them that it wasn’t it a joke, and they had to complete it and turn it in.” The 10-question quiz included questions about prostitution, drugs, drive-by shootings and spray paint graffiti. According to WALA, one of the questions was: Leroy has 2 ounces of cocaine. If he sells an eight ball to Antonio for $320 and 2 grams to Juan for $85 per gram, what is the street value of the rest of his hold?” It was similar to a math quiz that’s been on the Internet for years with questions about gangs. Philips said the principal and a school police officer investigated after officials learned of the test Tuesday, and the teacher was placed on leave. Hall said the teacher is retiring at the end of the school year, but Philips declined comment on details of her job status. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Bradley Byrne: Opioid crisis requires a serious response
I recently saw a local news story about a young 18-year-old boy from Southwest Alabama who struggled with prescription drug abuse. He talked about how it started out small with just a few pain pills but his addiction spiraled out of control until he was seriously ill. Thankfully this young man was able to seek treatment from a local drug abuse program, and now he is preparing to apply to college. Sadly, not every person who struggles with prescription drug abuse is so fortunate. Studies show that approximately 46,000 Americans die because of a drug overdose each year, and young Americans are disproportionately impacted. That adds up to over 130 deaths a day. It is safe to say our nation is facing a serious epidemic when it comes to prescription drug abuse, and the real issue is with opioids. An opioid is a type of narcotic derived from the opium poppy, which includes drugs such as morphine, codeine, hydrocodone, and oxycodone. Opioids are also found in heroin, and many people who struggle with prescription drug abuse ultimately find themselves using heroin. This makes the epidemic even worse. Overwhelmingly, the people who struggle with opioid addiction are not bad people or looking to break the law. The addiction often develops after someone is correctly prescribed pain medicine in response to an injury. In many of the stories I have heard, the addiction develops after a young athlete gets injured playing sports. The opioid epidemic is real, and it is serious. The epidemic doesn’t discriminate about who it affects. It has hit rural areas and urban cities. It impacts the young and the old. It doesn’t care about skin color. Americans from every walk of life have experienced this heartbreaking epidemic one way or another. In the House of Representatives, we have made it a top priority to address the opioid epidemic, and we are committed to doing so in a bipartisan fashion. Just a few weeks ago, the House passed a package of 18 bills designed to address different aspects of the opioid epidemic with large bipartisan votes. A few of the bills would help veterans who are struggling with opioid abuse. It isn’t uncommon for a veteran to come back from combat with serious injuries that require pain medicine. These bills require the Department of Veterans Affairs to bring their pain management guidelines up-to-date while also strengthening education and training for medical professionals. Another bill would create an interagency task force to update medical standards for doctors and create a path forward for pain management. The key is to find ways to treat those with chronic pain while reducing the likelihood of addiction to develop. The Good Samaritan Assessment Act would reform our “good Samaritan” laws to make sure people are protected if they seek medical care for someone who has overdosed on illegal drugs. Yet another bill is designed to study and improve treatment options for babies impacted by prescription drug abuse while they are still in the womb. This is a serious issue that hits our nation’s most vulnerable. The Senate has passed their own opioid legislation, and a Conference Committee will work out the differences between the House and the Senate proposals and get a bipartisan bill to the President’s desk. At the end of the day, the epidemic is too serious for us to just sit back and hope things get better. We must act to stop opioid abuse and ensure that people get the treatment they need. This is an issue where we can come together — as Republicans and Democrats — to address an issue that impacts every single community in the United States, and that is exactly what we are doing. • • • Bradley Byrne is a member of U.S. Congress representing Alabama’s 1st Congressional District.
Alabama bans ‘Kratom’ over addiction and abuse fears
A little-known plant-based substance often sold as an herbal supplement to address chronic pain is raising alarm bells in states concerned that it could be as addictive as heroin. The controversy around kratom — a plant originating in Southeast Asia — has led Alabama to become the sixth U.S. state to ban it. Kratom is now a Schedule 1 drug in Alabama, the same classification as heroin and ecstasy. Wisconsin, Vermont, Tennessee, Indiana and Arkansas have also banned the botanical supplement, and more states are considering the same course. The federal government, too, has worries about kratom. The Drug Enforcement Administration designates kratom as a “drug of concern” — meaning that, although it is still technically legal, it poses risks if abused. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration lists kratom as an herbal supplement, which means it is not regulated as vigorously as pharmaceuticals before it reaches consumers. The FDA warns of a range of side effects from vomiting to aggression and hallucinations. Yet the drug’s popularity is indisputable, and its advocates staunchly insist kratom is nothing more than a natural analgesic that can be safely used to alleviate pain, combat fatigue and reduce depression and anxiety. “Naturally occurring Kratom is a safe herbal supplement that’s more akin to tea and coffee than any other substances,” the American Kratom Association says on its website. Kelly Devine, an Alabama native who founded the group Kratom United, says some of the kratom products sold may be mixed with unhealthy additives but the plant itself is a natural pain reliever. “We’re not seeking drugs, we’re seeking relief,” Devine said. Kratom grows naturally in Thailand, Malaysia, and elsewhere in Southeast Asia and was traditionally chewed or boiled into tea by workers in that region of the world to boost productivity because kratom at low doses can act like a stimulant. At higher doses, kratom yields a sedative and pain relief effect. Experts say two properties in the plant –mitragynine and hydromitragynine–bind to the same brain receptors as classic opioids like hydrocodone, though kratom is less potent. Oliver Grundmann, clinical associate professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Florida School of Pharmacy, said opioid addicts could get relief from kratom, since the same brain receptors are affected. In a 2013 University of Mississippi study, researchers found that mitragynine “blocked all withdrawal symptoms” in methadone-addicted mice who were fed kratom leaves. Researchers have seen heroin users cycle to kratom, but Grundmann says addicts are known to begin reusing heroin as the body develops a tolerance to kratom. Shortly after the law making kratom sales and possession illegal in Alabama took effect May 10, products like brightly colored “Krazy Kratom” bottles were being pulled from the shelves of retailers — gas stations and head shops in particular. Barry Matson, chairman of the Alabama Drug Abuse Task Force, doesn’t want to stand in the way of anybody getting medication that helps them but doesn’t think solutions can be found in a gas station product. “We don’t need this on shelves if it’s powerful enough to replace (heroin) for some people.” Though Matson said there are cases in Alabama of deaths and injuries involving kratom, Grundmann says he’s seen no evidence to indicate kratom was the “sole contributing drug” to an overdose death in the U.S. However, research is so limited that experts aren’t sure how other compounds in the plant interact with other substances. “We’re always trying to catch up behind the latest trends,” Grundmann said. “There are so many different drugs, so many different ways to abuse drugs that we don’t initially think about.” Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
