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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
March 19, 2024

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Northwest agencies weigh in on opioid epidemic

President’s emergency declaration inspires hope for some, pause for others

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Every Monday, Dr. Luke Rosen with PeaceHealth St. John’s clinic in Longview opens his phone line for new patients.

On the average week, he gets 16 people looking for opioid addiction treatment.

“This disease impacts everyone,” he said. “And to think otherwise, you’re a fool.”

Cowlitz County is rural and has one of the highest overdose death rates in Washington state. In a four-year period, 71 people died here.

President Donald Trump declared a federal emergency Thursday to deal with the opioid crisis.

Tri-county health officer Dr. Paul Lewis of Portland said he’s heartened by Trump’s declaration.

“If nothing else, it’s symbolic,” he said.

The declaration directs agencies to use all appropriate emergency authorities to tackle this problem. What that actually entails could be complicated, in part because opioids can be distributed in many ways.

The most obvious way is when someone gets injured and they get a prescription for pain.

Lewis said for most people, the drugs aren’t a problem. But for some, it lights-up their brains and they’re easily hooked. So, he said, prescriptions need to be limited and the declaration could help.

Another way opioids are abused is by people traveling from one clinic to another, collecting the drugs to sell. Lewis said both Oregon and Washington have computer systems that track these “doctor shoppers.” Those systems appear to be reducing demand.

“Since a peak around 2015, we’ve come down about 25 percent of the amount of pills prescribed,” he said.

But Oregon Republican congressman Greg Walden isn’t so sure. In a recent call, Walden said one small town in West Virginia, with a population of just 400, had nearly 9 million pills delivered over two years.

That’s more than 900 pills per person, per month.

“Why are so many pills flowing into so many communities? Is it the manufacturers? Is it the prescribers? Is it the distribution chain? And why is it we can’t just shut that down?” asked Walden.

Opioids also come in the form of cheap black-tar heroin.

President Trump has said 90 percent of heroin comes from south of the border and his solution is to build a wall.

But Steve Harris, an addiction counselor from Beaverton, said a wall isn’t going to fix the problem.

“This is an epidemic that was really caused, I believe, by pharmaceuticals, by this idea that thinking opioids weren’t addictive if you have pain,” he said.

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