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There
is one body and one Spirit-just as you were called to the one hope that
belongs to your call- one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and
Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Ephesians 4:4-6 ESV
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STAY CONNECTED
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Fentanyl-Laced Heroin Suspected in at Least 50 Recent Fatal Overdoses in Three States
Heroin laced with the synthetic opiate fentanyl is suspected in at least 50 recent fatal overdoses in three states, according to law enforcement officials. In Pennsylvania, the drug combination is suspected in at least 17 deaths. Officials in Maryland and Michigan are also investigating deaths linked to the drug mix. In Flint, Michigan, fentanyl-laced heroin is suspected in four recent overdoses.
Fentanyl is often used during surgery. Drug dealers add it to heroin to create a stronger high, ABC News reports.
People who use the drug combination “don’t know that fentanyl is in it and shoot it up and stop breathing, because they were unaware of the added punch in the narcotic,” said Ray Isackila, counselor and team leader of addiction treatment at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland. He noted fentanyl is 50 to 100 times more potent than heroin, and affects the central nervous system and brain. “Heroin with illicit fentanyl laced into it makes it stronger, cheaper and more desirable on the street,” he said. “People hear about this new heroin or this super strong heroin that someone is selling,” and they want it.
“There’s an odd mindset in the drug addiction world if people have overdosed on this, they think I’ve got to get some of it,” Isackila said. They say “they’ll just use a little — a dangerous drug becomes more desirable to the addict on the street.”
Heroin Overdose Antidote Naloxone Becoming More Widely Available
The heroin overdose antidote naloxone is becoming more widely available nationwide, the Los Angeles Times reports. California greatly expanded availability of the treatment as of January 1. Currently 17 states and the District of Columbia have adopted laws allowing family and friends of people who are addicted to heroin or prescription opioids to have the antidote.
The treatment, sold under the brand name Narcan, has been used for many years by paramedics and doctors in emergency rooms. It is administered by nasal spray. The medication blocks the ability of heroin or opioid painkillers to attach to brain cells. The U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy says it is encouraging police departments to carry Narcan.
Ohio is considering a measure to allow distribution of Narcan, the article notes. Ohio is one of many states that have experienced a surge in heroin use. Much of the increase is driven by people who have switched to heroin from prescription painkillers, because it is much cheaper and easier to obtain than pills such as oxycodone. The state measure would increase naloxone’s availability to anyone “in a position to assist an individual who there is reason to believe is at risk of experiencing an opioid-related overdose.”
According to Wilson Compton, Deputy Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, when naloxone is injected into an overdose victim whose heart is still beating, “it’s virtually 100 percent effective.” When overdose victims are discovered, “they’re kind of blue, they’re breathing very shallowly, or hardly breathing at all,” he said. “If this medication is administered [properly], they wake up within a minute or two. It’s remarkable. You save their life.”
Last summer, the police department of Quincy, Massachusetts, the first in the nation to require every officer on patrol to carry Narcan, reported a 95 percent success rate with the treatment.
Babies Born to Addicted Mothers a “Troubling Epidemic”: Maine Governor
By Join Together Staff | February 6, 2014 | 1 Comment | Filed in Community Related, Drugs, Government, Parenting, Prevention & Youth
Maine Governor Paul R. LePage this week said the births of 927 babies born to mothers addicted to drugs last year in the state is a “troubling epidemic.” The babies represented more than 7 percent of all births in the state, The New York Times reports.
In his State of the State address, Governor LePage said the babies create “a lifelong challenge for our health care system, schools and social services.” He added, “It is unacceptable to me that a baby should be born affected by drugs.” He urged legislators to add four special drug prosecutors and four judges to sit in enhanced courts, and to add 14 agents to the state’s Drug Enforcement Agency. He did not mention a role for treatment, the article notes.
“We must hunt down dealers and get them off the streets,” Mr. LePage said. “We must protect our citizens from drug-related crimes and violence. We must save our babies from lifelong suffering.”
Last month, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin said his state is suffering from a “full-blown heroin crisis.” In his State of the State Message, Governor Shumlin said he wants officials to respond to addiction as a chronic disease. He focused his entire speech on drug addiction and its consequences.
He called on the state to treat heroin addiction with treatment and support, instead of punishment and incarceration. “In every corner of our state, heroin and opiate drug addiction threatens us,” he said. “The time has come for us to stop quietly averting our eyes from the growing heroin addiction in our front yards, while we fear and fight treatment facilities in our backyards.”
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Did you hear the forecast?
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Are you as tired of this weather as we are? Car stuck in ice.
Events cancelled. No school. Kids bored. Lost gloves. Hat wet. Out of
peanut butter. And branches down!
This
is one tough winter for anyone, but for those of us in need of our
community, our support system, our programs and our fellowships, the
isolation is
even more challenging. If you have electricity, though, this is when you should double up on making phone calls and using social media.
You can
also get on your computer and explore how to expand your knowledge of
addiction recovery. Just Google those two words and a whole world of
resources will open up. Hopefully, one that will come up is PRO-ACT's
Recovery Walks! 2014--or just click here. Gotta work out!
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PRO-ACT and The Council will host our 13th annual Recovery Walk on September 20
in Philadelphia to celebrate addiction recovery. Everyone is
welcome--you don't need to be in recovery. It provides a fun way for
families to spend a day together and break the multi-generational impact
that addiction has on them and our communities. And it's a great way to
catch up with friends. Bring grandma, the family dog, your kids, and
other loved ones.
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The Walk has several
purposes, but one is fundraising so that we can continue to provide the
free recovery support services and programs that many of you have
benefited from. For those unfamiliar with what we offer, here's just a
keyhole glimpse of what we have done in just the last year alone (we
could go on and on but by the time you'd get to the end, the snow may
have melted):
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The Philadelphia Recovery Training Center served 2,356 individuals,
providing a combination of peer-based recovery support services,
face-to-face direct recovery support services and trainings and
workshops. They also trained 102 new volunteers, 32 of whom became
Recovery Coaches and 35 became Group Facilitators.
Being snowed in is a great opportunity for you to contact your family,
friends and associates and have them commit to your team for the Walk.
If you click here, you'll find many handy tools and advice on how to form your team
and get people excited about the Walk and collecting donations.
Beginning now will save you a last minute rush in August or September.
Remember, there's a prize for the team that collects the most in
donations and also for the largest team.
Now, please take a look outside and see if your neighbor needs a push!
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To make a donation to the Recovery Walk, please click here
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