NAS and Opioid Policy in the News

Taking a combination of opioids (strong prescription painkillers) and psychotropic medications (widely used to treat mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression) during pregnancy is associated with a greater risk of drug withdrawal in newborns, finds a study in The BMJ today. Read more here: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-08-drug-newborns-opioid-epidemic.html

The epidemic of death and despair caused by heroin and prescription painkillers has hit every corner of the country, but it’s had a greater impact in poor, rural communities throughout the U.S. Read more here: http://www.hhnmag.com/articles/8472-stemming-the-opioid-tide-in-rural-communities

Over the past two decades, increasing use of opioid pain relievers has led to myriad complications in communities throughout the US. In 2015, every 15 minutes one American died from an opioid related overdose—which is more frequent than deaths from vehicle crashes.1 Given the rapid rise and scope of the US opioid epidemic, it should not be a surprise that nearly every segment of society has been affected, including pregnant women and their infants.

President Trump’s commission on combating the opioid crisis, led by Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, recommended that the president declare a national emergency. The problem has become significantly worse recently, so you might feel that you could use a little catching up. Read more here: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/08/03/upshot/opioid-drug-overdose-epidemic.html

It’s common for pregnant women in treatment for opioid addiction to get discharged by their doctor, according to addiction treatment experts working with this population. Dr. Tara Benjamin runs a prenatal clinic specializing in helping these women, a program of Riley Children's Health based at Indiana University, University Hospital. Benjamin says, a few years ago, more and more patients started showing up at her clinic addicted to prescription pain pills and heroin.

Today, our nation faces a different kind of epidemic — a rising toll of hospitalizations and deaths from opioid abuse. The Department of Defense (DoD) and Veterans Health Administration (VA) have been aware of problems with excessive use of opioids in patient management for more than a decade. This recognition, in part, was driven by the last 17 years of armed conflict and the health care challenges this has wrought on injured Service Members and their families.  

Jessica Grubb’s political impact was profound. Her story, as told by her father, had a more profound impact than she could have imagined. Since that day, whenever Obama has privately discussed the heroin and opioid epidemic with lawmakers, advisers or other White House visitors, the conversation drifted back to the Grubb family. Read more here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jessica-grubb-obama_us_56f99db9e4b014d3fe23de54

Injuries are a leading cause of death — and completely preventable. To bolster research in this area, the U-M Injury Center just received new federal funding.   Read more here: http://labblog.uofmhealth.org/industry-dx/new-cdc-funding-for-u-m-injury-center-probes-solutions-to-opioid-epidemic-and-injuries

THE FOOD and Drug Administration unveiled last week what may be one of the most important public-health initiatives of this century: an ambitious long-term strategy to finally end tobacco’s cycle of addiction and death, a scourge that has taken the lives of millions of Americans over centuries of cultivation and consumption. The FDA should move quickly to make this vision a reality — more quickly than it did under the Obama administration.  

The Food and Drug Administration is strengthening efforts to detect opioids illegally entering the country through the mail, reflecting heightened concerns about the flood of synthetic fentanyl and similar drugs being shipped from China and elsewhere. Read more here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/news/to-your-health/wp/2017/08/04/fda-to-step-up-fentanyl-targeting-at-postal-facilities/