On August 17, 2015 the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy announced a new plan pairing law enforcement officials and public health workers to combat the rise in heroin deaths. The program will recruit 15 drug intelligence officers and 15 health policy analysts to collect data on overdoses and trafficking patterns that can then be shared with local law enforcement more quickly than the current system. It also will train first responders to deliver medication that can stop opioid overdoses. The $2.5 million effort will focus on “High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas” and will cover 15 states, including New England and other Northeastern states.
“The new Heroin Response Strategy demonstrates a strong commitment to address the heroin and prescription opioid epidemic as both a public health and a public safety issue,” Michael Botticelli, director of National Drug Control Policy said in a statement, NBC News reported.
Botticelli spoke at the Harvard Chan School in May at a Forum event held in connection with a national poll by the School and The Boston Globe that examined Americans’ attitudes about prescription pain medication misuse, as well as approaches to resolving this national problem.
According to the poll results, nearly four in ten (39%) Americans say they have known someone during the past five years who has abused prescription painkillers. Of those who have known someone who has had this problem, a majority say it has had a major harmful effect on the user’s family life (67%), work life (58%), and health (55%). In addition, 21% say that the person’s abuse of prescription painkillers led to their death.
Opioid Painkiller Abuse: Ending the Crisis (The Forum)
Poll: Many Americans know someone who has abused prescription painkillers and suffered major harmful effects (Harvard Chan School News)
White House announces program to combat rise in heroin deaths (NBC News)
In heroin fight, White House will push treatment (Washington Post)