Pubdate: Wed, 15 Feb 2012
Source: Newsday (NY)
Copyright: 2012 Newsday Inc.
Contact:  http://www.newsday.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/308
Author: Meghan Ralston
Note: Meghan Ralston is the harm reduction coordinator for the
Drug Policy Alliance, a national advocacy organization.

WHAT CAN WE LEARN AFTER WHITNEY?

As someone who works to help prevent overdose deaths, I don't just get
sad when I hear about someone dying from a suspected accidental drug
overdose -- I get angry. And frustrated.

White House drug czar R. Gil Kerlikowske, speaking with CBS News about
Whitney Houston's untimely death, referred to it as a "teachable
moment." The "teachable moment" message always seems to get trotted
out when someone famous appears to have died of an overdose. But
what's being taught?

Kerlikowske gets a lot of things right -- like when he said in the
interview that many families struggle with these issues and it's
important to raise awareness about prescription drug abuse. But he
missed an opportunity by failing to specify what Americans can learn
from Houston's alleged overdose.

He could have talked about the importance of providing basic
information about how to prevent, recognize and respond to an overdose
at places like high schools, colleges, drug treatment facilities and
homeless shelters.

He could have explained that the chances of surviving an overdose,
like those of surviving a heart attack, depend greatly on how fast one
receives medical assistance -- and mentioned that New York, Illinois,
New Mexico, Connecticut and Washington have recently passed "Good
Samaritan" laws to encourage people to call 911 immediately, without
fear of arrest and prosecution for minor drug law violations.

At the very least, he could have said that it's people in their 40s
and 50s -- not adolescents -- who are more likely to die from an
accidental drug overdose. Parents are rightly cautioned these days to
"lock up your medicine cabinets," to reduce the likelihood of
potentially dangerous drugs getting into young hands. But do parents
realize the risks to themselves if they improperly use the same drugs?

We could be doing more to keep drug abusers alive. As a society, we
seem willing to let people die because we're fearful that teaching
them how to use drugs in a less risky way "enables" them to keep
using. But shouldn't we do whatever is necessary to keep people alive
long enough to help get them into drug treatment and to work through
their troubles?

Drug poisoning is now the leading cause of injury-related death in the
United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. We keep hearing about the prescription-drug epidemic, now
being attributed largely to opiate painkillers like oxycodone. But
many people have never heard of naloxone, the generic opiate overdose
reversal medication that essentially stops an overdose in its tracks,
helping to restore normal breath and consciousness. Why isn't this
kind of basic, lifesaving information more readily available? Or for
that matter, why isn't naloxone more readily available?

While it's commendable that our drug czar acknowledges that addiction
doesn't discriminate, the fact remains that access to quality drug
treatment often does -- in favor of people who've been arrested and
diverted into treatment programs. There simply aren't enough publicly
funded spots available in drug-treatment facilities across the
country, and many such spots are filled by people who don't actually
need treatment but who have been mandated by a drug court to complete
treatment after a low-level marijuana possession arrest. This needs to
stop.

Anyone who wants or needs drug treatment should have easy and ready
access to it. Beefing up access to treatment saves lots of money in
the long term, but it requires a significant investment on the front
end. States have to make it easier for people struggling with
substance abuse to get the help they need, as quickly as they realize
they need it.

The tragedy of Whitney Houston's death is a teachable moment. The same
was true of the deaths of Amy Winehouse, Mike Starr, Anna Nicole
Smith, Heath Ledger and everyone else who has died from an accidental
overdose. Virtually every moment is a teachable one when it comes to
educating people about preventing overdose deaths. We shouldn't always
have to wait for another superstar to die to have these conversations.
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