https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/poulsbo-police-officer-charged-with-felony-drug-possession-1/705177628

A Washington police officer has been charged with possession of a controlled substance and theft after authorities say she stole narcotics from a city’s prescription drug disposal box.

Smaaladen was placed on administrative leave in November.

Police Chief Dan Schoonmaker said the conduct will not be tolerated, but described Smaaladen as an “otherwise exceptional police officer.”

The Poulsbo officer is being charged with felony drug possession after surveillance video allegedly shows her taking narcotics from a box inside the police department.  

KIRO 7 has learned this officer has been with the department for decades.

Schoonmker said he was “extremely shocked” to see that video. 

And others in the community were surprised as well. 

Investigators say the surveillance video shows Smaaladen taking narcotics that were left in this narcotics drop box at the police station. 

According to court documents, Smaaladen said she located the keys to the drug depository box in a lock-box within the police department.

A Poulsbo city employee became suspicious in October after watching this surveillance video to check her timesheet.

“I reviewed that video. It certainly looked suspicious to me,” said Schoonmaker. “So the first thing that I did is contact [the] Bremerton police department. We have a really good relationship with our allied agencies.”

Smaaladen was charged on Wednesday with possession of a controlled substance, morphine and third-degree theft. 

Any disciplinary action by the police department can only take place after an internal investigation.
The criminal investigation must be completed first. 

“Since we’ve just begun the internal investigation, we will see what that reveals,” said Schoonmaker.

Investigators believe Smaaladen took the drugs to supplement her legally prescribed medications she used to treat pain from injuries.  

Some in the community told KIRO 7 they feel somewhat sympathetic when we told them about this crime.

“She was taking illegal drugs,” Vince Ryan, a Poulsbo native, said. “She obviously shouldn’t have stolen them, but in a way you could say that she was disabled — at least temporarily — by her addiction.” 

“At this point, I think, you have to pay for the consequences to your actions,” Marianne Ryan, a Poulsbo native, said.

Imagine that… a person who has pain from injuries – perhaps work related – and being – perhaps – having their pain under treated because of the new CDC guidelines.. and – perhaps – at risk of having to stop working because of uncontrolled pain ?

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TBI investigating raid on wrong house in Bradley County; DEA apologizes to family

http://newschannel9.com/news/local/tbi-investigating-raid-on-wrong-house-in-bradley-county-dea-apologizes-to-family

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www.jennystradling.com/blog/marketing-to-eaps-with-mat-why-your-treatment-center-needs-to-offer-mat/

Marketing to EAPs with MAT: Why Your Treatment Center Needs to Offer MAT

As of April 2018, about 127 million people were employed on a full-time basis in the United States. Of those, 25 percent are struggling with a mental illness. That means currently more than 31 million Americas are working and dealing with a mental health disorder. And, according to SAMHSA, almost 9 million people in the United States have both a mental health and substance abuse issue.

Despite the ongoing public debate on whether addiction is a disease, the National Institute on Drug Abuse states that addiction is a complicated, chronic disease that affects a person physically, mentally and emotionally. Because of this government classification, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) protects individuals who need to take a leave of absence for substance abuse treatment, as they may be allowed up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave.

However, many working professionals are still going untreated, and each year, more and more of our population is lost to addiction overdose.

The Opioid Epidemic

In the late ‘90s, pharmaceutical companies told health care providers that patients wouldn’t become addicted to opioid pain relievers, causing providers to begin to prescribe them at a greater rate. These prescriptions became commonplace over the last decade, and the widespread use made it clear that these drugs are, in fact, highly addictive.

In 2017, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency, along with a 5-point plan on how to fix this epidemic, which includes:

• Improving access to treatment and recovery services
• Promoting use of overdose-reversing drugs
• Strengthening our understanding of the epidemic through better public health surveillance
• Providing support for cutting-edge research on pain and addiction
• Advancing better practices for pain management

Enter Medically Assisted Treatment

Medically assisted treatment (MAT) isn’t exactly new. However, the idea can still scare people. Some call it substituting one drug or addiction for another. But, it’s deeper than that.

Many treatment centers practice abstinence-based recovery programming and have had decades of experience and results in treating people with holistic modalities. However, with the recent onslaught of the opioid addictions and subsequent deaths, treatment providers are starting to realize not all addictions can be treated without medical assistance.

Consider this: Each individual and his or her situation are unique. A college student who has been binge drinking for the summer, for example, may not need acute detox in order to overcome his or her substance abuse issue. However, a long-term opioid user who was prescribed the opioids as a pain-management medication is not going to be able to physically detox from the drugs without medically assisted treatment.

The Changing Laws

In 2016, more than 11 million Americans abused opioids that were prescribed to them, and nearly 1 million more used heroin, which is common after the prescribed medications are cut off.

It’s easy to point the finger at the pharmaceutical companies when you look at how the opioid crisis has come about. With an annual death toll of 60 thousand and climbing, the public and the government are both looking at Big Pharma and asking how they could let this happen.

Image Source: https://www.cnn.com/2017/12/21/health/drug-overdoses-2016-final-numbers/

And, their response? Don’t worry, we have a solution: Suboxone.

Is Suboxone The Answer?

Hardly.

Suboxone, buprenorphine and all of their derivatives are highly addictive. But, let’s be honest: Anyone who has been using opioids for any extended period of time isn’t going to want or agree to come off the opioids unless they feel they have a viable solution for their pain.

If drugs like Suboxone and buprenorphine can help Americans get off opioids, it’s a start. But, it’s not that simple. There are patients that have been on opioids for eight to 10 years and now, by law, they are going to be taken off these drugs. That doesn’t mean they can start Suboxone the next day. Getting off opioids is still going to require professional medical detox. It’s still going to require mental health treatment and a transitional plan for ongoing pain management.

How Treatment Centers Can Help

Pain management doctors, physicians and general practitioners all have to consider MAT. If you are a prescribing doctor and your patients are currently on opioids, what happens when you can no longer offer your patients the same opioid treatment regimen for their chronic pain?

Pain management doctors are going to refer clients to treatment centers for detox and medication stabilization, through a residential track only. Insurance companies will cover that. The addiction recovery center will then refer the pain management client back to the doctor so that the patient can continue his or her medication treatment and return back to work.

Note: That is really the key – getting the patient back to work.

Working with EAPs

The best strategy with MAT is really working with Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) and creating a reciprocal referral relationship with medical care providers. When a working professional initiates the FMLA with their employer, the EAP helps them get into treatment without risk of losing their job.

Treatment providers who provide an MAT program can tell working professionals, “We can get you back onto a medication that works for you and refer you back to your doctor for a continuation of care,” which is true. And, you can then morally and ethically offer detox and residential care, which are the highest-yielding addiction treatment services anyways.

Marketing EAP for MAT

Look. Marketing isn’t just tactics, methods and channels. It’s knowing the market, developing the right message and getting it to the right people.

It’s clear to us that the next big demand for addiction care is going to come from MAT. By offering MAT and placing a proper EAP program in place and leveraging strategic partnerships with pain management doctors, hospitals, general practitioners and outpatient providers, your treatment center can create a reciprocal referral relationship and help more people get off opioids.

And, isn’t that what this is all about?

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Insurance Consolidation May Soon Include Hospitals, Create Powerhouses

http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/health-plans/insurance-consolidation-may-soon-include-hospitals-create-powerhouses

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Schumer: Deadly ‘super pills’ are making opioid epidemic even worse

https://nypost.com/2018/05/20/schumer-deadly-super-pills-are-making-opioid-epidemic-even-worse/

More than a million high-dose opioid “super pills” are prescribed by doctors every month, creating an opioid epidemic that’s “on steroids,” Sen. Chuck Schumer said Sunday.

A single super pill has at least 80 morphine equivalents, a dosage the senator said is rarely needed in pain management. The OxyContin brand of super pills has the dosage power of 24 Vicodin tablets in one swallow.

“Gaining access to these drugs often begins with the stroke of a doctor’s pen, but can lead down a dark and dangerous path that either fuels opioid addiction or results in overdose death,” he said.

Schumer said CDC data shows the number one way that people improperly acquire opioids is for free from a friend or relative.

“It terrifies me that a 16-year-old could find a bottle of these super pills in a medicine cabinet and not realize how dangerous they are,” he said.

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The House Energy and Commerce Committee passed 32 opioid-related bills last week, which now advance to vote by the full House of Representatives

Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-IN) introduced both bills, including the Opioid Screening and Chronic Pain Management Alternatives for Seniors Act (H.R. 5798) and the Postoperative Opioid Prevention Act (H.R. 5809).

The first, H.R. 5798, would update the Welcome to Medicare Initial Assessment to require a physician to screen patients for opioid use. In the screening process, the doctor would look for the potential for abuse, provide information on non-opioid alternatives, and give a referral if needed to a pain specialist physician. The bill was co-sponsored by Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and Erik Paulsen (R-MN).

“As a physician, I believe it is vital to support initiatives that will help to prevent seniors from misusing or becoming addicted to opioids while managing their chronic pain,” Bucshon, who was a practicing physician and surgeon before being elected to Congress, said. “By screening seniors as they enter the Medicare system, we can use this milestone as an opportunity to address their concerns and manage their chronic pain while reducing risks associated with opioid use.”

The other bill Buschon sponsored, the Postoperative Opioid Prevention Act (H.R. 5809), would give patients greater access to non-opioid alternatives for postoperative pain management. It is co-sponsored by Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA).

“One way to address the opioid crisis is to prevent patients from misusing or becoming addicted to opioids in the first place by promoting the use of non-opioid alternatives.

This common-sense legislation addresses the lack of non-opioid alternatives for post-surgical pain management and begins to move our society away from the destructive crisis raging nationwide,” Bucshon said

With all the members up the House up for election in Nov – LESS THAN SIX MONTHS AWAY – seems like they are focused on all those 46 million 65+ y/o seniors will only get NON-OPIATE options to help manage their pain. I wonder how many seniors will end up with bleeding guts from too many NSAIDS or their liver will “crap out” because of too much Acetaminophen/Tylenol ?

If this bill becomes law.. it would appear that Congress has the intention of making Seniors’ “golden age” and years of retirement to become more full of “fool’s gold” ?

Hopefully Senator McConnell and the Senate will continue on the same path that they have been on for most of this session of Congress and not take any action on these bills..  time to contact your Senator ?

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FDA warns companies selling illegal, unapproved kratom products marketed for opioid cessation, pain treatment and other medical uses

https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm608447.htm

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued warning letters to three marketers and distributors of kratom products – Front Range Kratom of Aurora, Colorado; Kratom Spot of Irvine, California and Revibe, Inc., of Kansas City, Missouri – for illegally selling unapproved kratom-containing drug products with unproven claims about their ability to help in the treatment of opioid addiction and withdrawal. The companies also make claims about treating pain, as well as other medical conditions like lowering blood pressure, treating cancer and reducing neuron damage caused by strokes.

“Despite our warnings that no kratom product is safe, we continue to find companies selling kratom and doing so with deceptive medical claims for which there’s no reliable scientific proof to support their use

,” said FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D. “As we work to combat the opioid epidemic, we cannot allow unscrupulous vendors to take advantage of consumers by selling products with unsubstantiated claims that they can treat opioid addiction. Far from treating addiction, we’ve determined that kratom is an opioid analogue that may actually contribute to the opioid epidemic and puts patients at risk of serious side effects. If people believe that the active ingredients in kratom have drug-like effects that can treat pain or addiction, then the FDA is open to reviewing that data under our new drug approval process. In the meantime, I promised earlier this year that the FDA would step up our actions against unapproved and unsafe products that are being deceptively marketed for the treatment of opioid addiction and withdrawal symptoms. At the same time, we also promised to make the approval process more efficient for novel, safe and effective medical treatments aimed at the treatment of addiction; and to help more people suffering from addiction get access to approved therapies. In fulfilling these commitments, we’ll continue to take enforcement actions against unscrupulous products to protect the public health.”

The FDA continues to warn consumers not to use Mitragyna speciosa, commonly known as kratom, a plant which grows naturally in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The FDA is concerned that kratom, which affects the same opioid brain receptors as morphine, appears to have properties that expose users to the risks of addiction, abuse and dependence. There are no FDA-approved uses for kratom, and the agency has received concerning reports about the safety of kratom.

The FDA is actively evaluating all available scientific information on this issue and continues to warn consumers not to use any products labeled as containing the botanical substance kratom or its psychoactive compounds, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine. The FDA encourages more research to better understand kratom’s safety profile, including the use of kratom combined with other drugs.

The companies receiving warning letters use websites where they take orders for kratom products or they use social media to make unproven claims about the ability of their kratom drug products to cure, treat, or prevent a disease, which is against the law. Examples of claims being made by these companies include:

• “Along with helping drug addiction, the health benefits of kratom leaves include their ability to lower blood pressure, relieve pain, boost metabolism, increase sexual energy, improve the immune system, prevent diabetes, ease anxiety, eliminate stress, and induce healthy sleep.”
• “The mood elevation qualities of kratom reduces opiate withdrawal effects.”
• “Kratom, like any other pain killer, relieves temporary or even chronic pain.”
• “This plant can relieve headaches, vascular pain, arthritic pain, muscle pain among others.”
• “Kratom can be used as a remedy for stroke-related ailments and condition as it is a powerful antioxidant that works to reduce neuron damage.”
• “It can . . . help in lowering blood pressure.”
• “Kratom is also said to have elements that control blood sugar level in the body for diabetic patients.”
• “It is said, that kratom is very effective against cancer.”

Health fraud scams like these can pose serious health risks. These products have not been demonstrated to be safe or effective and may keep some patients from seeking appropriate, FDA-approved therapies. Selling these unapproved products with claims that they can treat opioid addiction and withdrawal and treat other serious medical conditions is a violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

Reducing the number of Americans who are addicted to opioids and cutting the rate of new addiction is one of the FDA’s highest priorities. This work includes promoting more widespread innovation and access to opioid addiction treatments for the more than 2 million of Americans with an opioid use disorder. The FDA is taking new steps to make safe and effective medication assisted treatments (MAT) available to those who suffer from opioid use disorder and to reduce the stigma that is sometimes associated with use of these therapies. Using products with unsubstantiated claims may prevent those addicted to opioids from seeking treatments that have been demonstrated to be safe and effective. Reliance on products with unsubstantiated claims may delay their path to recovery and put them at greater risk of addiction, overdose and death. In fact, patients receiving FDA-approved medication-assisted treatment cut their risk of death in half, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The warning letters included more than 65 kratom products. Some of these products include:

Front Range Kratom:

• “Maeng Da Red Vein Powder”
• “Maeng Da White Vein Capsules”
• “Liquid Kratom Red Maeng Da Enhanced Pain Formulation”
• “Bali White Vein Kratom Powder”
• “Bali Green Vein Powder”
• “Maeng Da White Energizing Formula”

Kratom Spot:

• “Red Thai Kratom Powder”
• “Indo White Vein Kratom Powder”
• “Borneo White Vein Kratom Powder”
• “Green Malay Kratom Powder”
• “Super Green Indo Kratom Capsules”
• “Ultra Enhanced Malay Kratom Powder”
• “Kratom Extract 8x Kratom Powder”

Revibe:

• “50x Black Diamond Extract”
• “Green Horn Kratom”
• “Green Indo”
• “Green Sumatra,” “Lucky 7”
• “Red Borneo”
• “Super Elephant”
• “White Sumatra”
• “Yellow Vietnam Kratom”

The FDA requested responses from each of the companies within 15 working days. The companies are directed to inform the agency of the specific actions taken to address each of the agency’s concerns. The warning letters also state that failure to correct violations may result in law enforcement action such as seizure or injunction.

Previous FDA testing also confirmed salmonella contamination in kratom products distributed by Revibe. On March 26, 2018, the FDA contacted Revibe regarding a recall of all Revibe kratom containing products that may be contaminated with salmonella. On April 3, 2018, the agency oversaw the destruction of products at Revibe’s facility, but, as of April 19, 2018, the company has not provided the FDA information to confirm that they have recalled the products it distributed. The FDA reminds consumers of the risks and urges them not to use these or any other kratom products.

Health care professionals and consumers are encouraged to report any adverse events related to these products to the FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program. To file a report, use the MedWatch Online Voluntary Reporting Form. The completed form can be submitted online or via fax to 800-FDA-0178.

The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, promotes and protects the public health by, among other things, assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.

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http://www.mypanhandle.com/news/veteran-opioid-abuse-prevention-act-passes-the-house/1191734447

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Dr. Neal Dunn’s Veterans Opioid Abuse Prevention Act passed in the house.

The bill calls for increased transparency among VA prescribing of controlled substances. It directs the department of veterans affairs to connect health care providers to a national network of drug monitoring programs.

They will then track data to identify abuse patterns in patients. Dr. Dunn spoke in support of the bill on the house floor earlier today.

According to Dr. Dunn, “more than 140 individuals every day are dying every day from opioid abuse in the United States.  And Opioids have resulted in the deaths of more Americans  than the Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam wars put together over the same period of time.” 

Former VA Secretary Robert McDonald said that veterans are more likely to abuse Opioids than the average American. It is one of the leading causes of homelessness among veterans. 

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CVS-Aetna, Cigna-Express Scripts mergers would lead to massive Part D consolidation

https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/payer/cvs-aetna-cigna-express-scripts-mergers-would-lead-to-massive-part-d-consolidation-analysis

Planned mergers between major health companies could lead to a serious anticompetitive landscape, a new analysis finds.

The proposed mergers of Cigna-Express Scripts and CVS Health-Aetna would further consolidate the Medicare Part D marketplace, research by the Kaiser Family Foundation found. The merged entities, plus Humana and UnitedHealth, would cover 71% of all Part D beneficiaries.

That type of dominance in the Part D market is comparable to Verizon and AT&T’s command of the wireless carrier industry. Those two companies occupy about 69% of the market, according to Statista.

 

Currently, three companies—UnitedHealth, Humana and CVS—already account for more than half of the program’s 43 million beneficiaries.

Critics of the mergers, including the American Medical Association, have said the deals, particularly CVS-Aetna, pose anticompetitive concerns, “unique to vertical mergers,” as new competitors would have to enter the market in both insurance and PBM to compete with the combined CVS-Aetna.

We continue “to strongly encourage state and federal officials to rigorously review the proposed mergers between pharmacy benefit managers and health insurers given the potential negative impact on pharmaceutical benefit management services, local health insurance markets, as well as local retail pharmacy markets, which in turn can harm consumers in these markets,” David O. Barbe, president of AMA, told FierceHealthcare in an email. “Close scrutiny is needed to determine if the ramifications of these massive mergers will threaten the benefits of competition, including increased access and choice, lower prices and higher quality care for patients.”

The companies, however, have argued that the deals will allow for more integrated care and will increase competition in the PBM sector, and lower drug costs for patients.

The Trump administration is pushing for more competition in the Part D market as part of a drug pricing blueprint, seemingly putting the mergers at odds with the White House’s vision.

RELATED: Trump targets Medicare, PBMs in plan to lower drug prices

The Department of Justice is currently reviewing the $69 billion deal between CVS and Aetna and has given few clues on whether the transaction will be approved. With its business-friendly approach, one might expect the White House to be more open to such a deal than the Obama administration, which blocked the Anthem-Cigna and Aetna-Humana deals.

However, the Trump administration’s decision to block the AT&T-Time Warner deal could indicate the proposed healthcare mergers might ultimately be too big, and too anticompetitive, to approve.

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