The Opioid Epidemic
FEATURE
Louis D'Amico
DC, R.Ph, BS Pharmacy
Well it is finally official, on August 10, 2017 President Donald Trump officially declared that the United States has an opioid epidemic unlike any other we have ever seen. He said that the federal government will soon be spending a lot of time and money to find a way out of this crisis. Unless you have been living under a rock or have been totally unplugged from the grid, you probably already heard about this devastating issue. In fact, you may have been personally touched by someone directly connected to an opioid addiction.
The statistics are staggering. In the United States over 100 people die every day from an opioid overdose. In 2015 more people in the United States died from an opioid overdose than were killed in the Vietnam war. Every day our hospitals and first responders are flooded with medical emergencies directly related to opioid overdose. Our local jails and prisons are filled beyond capacity with people who are committing illegal acts like burglary, armed robbery, prostitution, and white collar crime to feed their habit. Our law enforcement officials and judicial system are clogged with these poor souls who are hooked on a drug so powerful, that once addicted, face a life long struggle to get back and stay clean. The direct and indirect cost to the US economy is many billions of
dollars annually. The indirect cost of a lost human being to themselves and their family is incalculable. Tragically, most of these addicted Americans are not hippies or homeless street bums living under the radar screen. Many of them are your family, friends, and neighbors. They are your firefighter, your doctor, and possibly your loved one.
Opium is a white latex like substance that comes from the Poppy plant which grows wild in the Mediterranean area and Far East. In fact the oldest opium seeds date back almost 5000 years. For thousands of years the poppy plant has been used for its strong analgesic effects in many cultures. In the 14th century there are records to show that it was also being used recreationally. From that point forward opium became a commodity that was traded around the world. Two opium wars were fought in the mid 1800's between Britain and China over the opium trade. It was also during the early 1800's that chemists started to isolate and purify the analgesic and addicting components of the poppy plant including morphine, codeine, and heroin. From 1898 to 1910 Bayer Pharmaceutical Company marketed heroin as a non-addictive morphine substitute and cough medicine for children ! How about that for those dangerous cervical chiropractic adjustments.
In 1906 the US government passed the Food and Drug
Act which was a consumer protection law. One of its many responsibilities was to regulate dangerous and addicting drugs like opioids, cocaine, and cannabis which were becoming "rampant" in this country. Believe it or not early recipes for Coca Cola actually included cocaine. After the Act's passage the use of opioids became greatly reduced and the supply greatly decreased. Recreational heroin use in the 60's and 70's made the headlines but by today's standards, their use was relatively small. I practiced pharmacy from 1979 thru 1992 and can tell you that during those years the medical use of drugs like codeine, Vicodin, Percocet, and morphine were greatly regulated and restricted. I saw end stage cancer patients with significant levels of metastatic bone pain who were frankly under medicated for fear of addicting them or causing respiratory depression. But that all began to unwind around 1992 when OxyContin came to market. Drug companies like Purdue Pharmaceuticals convinced the AMA and the FDA that this sustained release version of Oxycodone ( Percocet) had a very low addiction potential. A few years later pain became the sixth vital sign and soon thereafter "pain management" and "pain clinics" became mainstream. It did not take long before the medical community became suspicious of the low addiction promises of the drug companies. The drug companies doubled down on their marketing efforts and the opium party continued. Eventually the federal and state governments handed out hundreds of millions of dollars in fines thru lawsuits to these companies for false advertising and fraudulent statements but by then millions of Americans
were addicted. Suddenly the legal supply of opioid painkillers became tougher to get. Addicted, your family, friends, and neighbors turned to the streets where a cheap supply of heroin, sometimes laced with deadly fentanyl, was there waiting. Tragically many thousands of lives have been lost or ruined by this epidemic.
Chiropractic is now being sanctioned by federal agencies as a safe and effective alternative to dangerous pain medications for musculoskeletal pain ! Even the "safe" pain killers like ibuprofen and acetaminophen are not without dangerous side effects if used too much or taken by people with heart disease. I suggest researching the Foundation 4 Chiropractic Progress's Opioid Addiction Toolkit which is full of well researched information to position you as an expert in alternative ways to fight acute and chronic pain. The time is now! Opioid Epidemic headlines are making the news everyday. Chiropractic has a tremendous opportunity to take its rightful place by helping people live less painful and more functional lives without the dangerous side effects of opioid and non opioid drugs.
Dr. D'Amico practiced pharmacy for 14 years before becominga chiropractor in 1995. He practices chiroprac tic full time in Pennsylvania, is an instructor for KDI and Neuralflex Systems/Technique, and a partner ana trainer with OTZ Methods.
