Center City, Minn. (March 6, 2018)—The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation called today's latest data on opioid overdoses a stark reminder that urgent action is needed to stem the worst drug crisis in the nation's history.
"The severity of this public health emergency cannot be overstated," said Nick Motu, vice president of the Hazelden Betty Ford Institute for Recovery Advocacy. "The nation has almost grown numb to the statistics, but real people are dying in record numbers. A massive and urgent national effort is needed to address addiction in our country like never before."
"It's not enough to increase awareness and reduce the supply of prescription and illicit opioids," Motu continued. "Prevention for the next generation won't save the millions of Americans who are already addicted. They need specialized treatment, healthcare and recovery supports in their communities right now."
The new data published today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show opioid overdoses continue to increase at a rapid pace throughout America.
The CDC's Vital Signs report looked at emergency department (ED) data from July 2016 through September 2017 and found a 30 percent rise nationwide. Other findings include:
- Eight states from three U.S. regions report substantial increases—25 percent or greater—in the rate of opioid overdose ED visits.
- All five U.S. regions experienced increases in overdose rates; the largest was in the Midwest (70 percent), followed by the West (40 percent), Northeast (21 percent), Southwest (20 percent), and Southeast (14 percent).
- The Midwest saw significant increases in all states reporting, including Wisconsin (109 percent), Illinois (66 percent), Indiana (35 percent), Ohio (28 percent), and Missouri (21 percent).
- Every demographic group experienced substantial increases in overdose rates, including men (30 percent) and women (24 percent) and people ages 25-34 (31 percent), 35-54 (36 percent), and 55 or older (32 percent).
Treatment services, including mental health services and medication-assisted treatment, need to be much more readily available and accessible, the CDC report says. A wide distribution of naloxone (an overdose-reversing drug) could also help curtail overdose deaths.
Our communities also need a lot more recovery centers, programs and support structures, including recovery friendly businesses, said Dr. Marvin Seppala, chief medical officer for the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, a leading national nonprofit provider of addiction treatment and recovery resources.
"Effective intervention strategies are step No. 1 in helping the many Americans struggling with opioid addiction, and quality evidence-based treatment—available quickly and everywhere—is step No. 2," Dr. Seppala said. "But recovery only begins in those initial weeks of treatment, and it can be a long process. For step No. 3, we need to help people stay engaged in active recovery maintenance for much longer—up to five years—and that means marshaling the energy and resources to finally change the paradigm and treat addiction like we do other chronic diseases—with long-term care and community-based supports."
As a national leader, the Hazelden Betty Ford Institute for Recovery Advocacy has long been pushing a comprehensive series of policy priorities on opioids, supporting passage of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act and the 21st Century Cures Act, while also emphasizing the need to protect addiction and mental illness treatment coverage in any health care reform and improve business practices and quality standards within the addiction care industry.
"All of us—treatment providers, law enforcement, doctors, family members and policymakers—need to do more to help curtail this overdose epidemic and begin addressing addiction more effectively," said Motu, noting that substance use disorders affect nearly a third of U.S. families, and that more people die from drug overdose than from car crashes or guns. "Since 1999, we've lost more people to drug overdose than currently live in the city of Portland. It's a mind-boggling crisis that demands a full-throated and long-term commitment."
"We would like our policymakers to see the long-term need to address addiction more broadly and systemically," Motu added. "One day, when the opioid crisis is behind us, I hope we have not simply moved on to the next drug crisis and instead have decided once and for all to address addiction as the longstanding public health problem that it is. Addiction represents one of the most prevalent and devastating health and social problems in our country, and it needs the requisite attention. We cannot afford for it to be marginalized within our health care system now—amid the tragedy of our opioid overdose epidemic—or later."
About the Hazelden Betty Ford Institute for Recovery Advocacy
Our mission is to provide a leading national voice on all issues related to addiction prevention, treatment and recovery and to facilitate conversation among those in recovery, those still suffering and society at large. We are committed to smashing stigma, shaping public policy and educating people everywhere about the problems of addiction and the promise of recovery. The Hazelden Betty Ford Institute for Recovery Advocacy is part of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, the nation's largest nonprofit treatment provider. With a legacy that began in 1949 and includes the 1982 founding of the Betty Ford Center, the Foundation has 17 sites in California, Minnesota, Oregon, Illinois, New York, Florida, Massachusetts, Colorado and Texas. Learn more at www.HBFinstitute.org and on Twitter @hbfinstitute.