Local Officials Sit Down with Community to Discuss Opioid Epidemic
THERE IS A VIDEO ON THE ABOVE LINK – COULD NOT COPY/EMBED IN THIS POST
BAY COUNTY, Fla. – Policy makers and law enforcement are constantly trying to find ways to put an end to the opioid epidemic that is devastating the nation.
Thursday evening, Representative Jay Trumbull and Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford, sat down with members of the community for a discussion about opioid addiction.
Scott Clemons, a Board Member for the Big Bend Community Base, said this event is for the local officials to hear the public’s thoughts on this national crisis.
“It’s not the kind of event where we’re having a panel of experts, Representative Trumbull and Sheriff Ford want people to give their input about their own experiences and their ideas about how we can solve this crisis as a community and as a state,” he said.
Those who have lost someone to drug addictions shared their stories, as well as doctors and pharmacists who deal with pain medications everyday.
Sheriff Tommy Ford said this gave him a perspective he does not get to see everyday.
“I think if we can engage the community we can really make a difference,” he said.
Many members of the community said addiction should be treated like a disease and the community should focus on treatment, while others said the solution should begin with educating students at a young age about this epidemic.
Barb and I went to this meeting last night in Panama City Beach.. there was 4+ dozen people at the meeting, some legislators, law enforcement, a couple of doctors, and large number of people who are social workers or others that work with the consequences of substance abuse.
Local bureaucrat started the meeting by making a short presentation… and of course stated that some 60 K people die of drug over doses.. but to his credit.. did mention that a large percent were not from just opiates or controlled substances… and then at the end of the meeting a state representative talked and quoted the 60 K OPIATE RELATED DEATHS.. in just a matter of a couple of hours the number of people who died from opiate OD’s had JUMPED 50%.
One ER physician stated that he had seen his first newborn dealing with withdrawal from KRATOM.. no way to confirm or deny if that was the only substance that the Mother was using … just that isolated piece of information thrown out ??
One woman … obviously a MJ advocate stating that opiate OD deaths have declined 25% in places where it is legal.. Florida voters approved legalizing MJ in the last election by some 70%-80%… but.. some of the cities/counties have been dragging their feet in granting permits for sellers/dispensers.
One woman, made a statement that the Purdue Pharma family – 5 members – were worth 14 billion and were the cause of all these OD’s… of course Oxycodone was on the market ( Tylox, Percodan, Percocet) for years before 1996 when Purdue brought out Oxycontin… which was the first long acting Oxycodone. Her, like most others in that group of Purdue Pharma haters, claim that their promotion of Oxycontin was deceptive.. when they stated that when used in chronic pain .. it was not addicting… which is true when treating chronic pain pts… when prescribed/taken by people who have undiagnosed addictive personality disorder… the outcome is typically quite different.
Could we come to the conclusion of blaming all the deaths from distracted driving and texting directly/indirectly to Steve Jobs and Apple and the invention of the Iphone ? Could we come to the conclusion that since Henry Ford invented the assembly line for auto manufacturing that the FORD FAMILY is directly/indirectly responsible for the 35,000/yr deaths from auto accidents ? How many deaths can be directly/indirectly connected to some industry/invention – tobacco & alcohol come to mind at first.
There was on doctor there who claimed to be a Geriatrician… and he stated publicly that NO ONE every died of opiate cold turkey withdrawal, and that HIGH DOSE opiates have no place out side of the hospital setting… I spoke with this physician after the meeting and asked him if he did CYP-450 enyzme testing on pts who appear to need high doses… NOPE.. in thinking back.. I am not sure he even knew what CYP-450 enzyme test really was ..
This does not surprise me, at the turn of the century, we had decided to sell one of our two rental condos, and move full time to our beach condo, We totally renovated the condo we intended to live in … with things that are more residential – more expensive – and would not take the use/abuse of renters. Barb ended up in one of the two local hospitals with infected diverticulitis .. I am not sure if “they almost killed her” or “they almost let her died”… the quality of the healthcare here at the beach was – IMO – between PATHETIC and MORONIC… Our condo became our non-rental second home… which it still is. But I digress
I tried to talk to one of the bureaucrats about the fake use of the word FENTANYL and that there was only one legal and 17 – or so – illegal analgos and that most people were dying from the illegal forms.. his response …a death is a death.. at which point I pointed out the 550,000/yr deaths from the two drugs of Alcohol & Nicotine and got a SHRUG out of the bureaucrat… so a death is not really a death..
One person who indicated they were a representative of United Way stated that we needed more CIVIL ASSET FORFEITURES to help fund more services for the substance abusers.
Many stated that addiction is a disease and a substance abuser is not going to “clean up” until they are ready…
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