To Tackle Opioid Crisis, Overdose Antidotes & Online Policing
Join us and tell your reps how you feel!
What’s the story?
This week both Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb and Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams appeared at the National Prescription Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit in Atlanta. Adams advocated strongly for members of the public to carry overdose antidote drugs, while Gottlieb argued for internet companies to police online sales more aggressively.
Thursday Adams issued the first surgeon general’s advisory in 13 years, urging anyone who works with or knows someone who may be at risk of an opioid overdose to carry naloxone, also known as Narcan, in order to combat opioid overdoses.
The drug, when administered while an individual is overdosing, can "temporarily reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, namely slowed or stopped breathing".
Laws differ state by state whether pharmacists can provide naloxone to someone without a prescription in order to protect themselves or their friends and family. Currently, naloxone can be purchased without a prescription in 46 or the 50 states. Some states provide naloxone to individuals at the conclusion of a community training. Training on administration is also available online.
Gottlieb focused primarily on issues with the sale of opioids online, calling for voluntary policing by internet companies of illegal opioid sales on their sites.
He acknowledged the law currently protects companies from liability for the illegal content, and that they have shied away from expanded policing. However, given the current scale of the crisis, Gottlieb insisted companies must step up monitoring and enforcement on their platforms.
Gottlieb cited a recent congressional investigation which uncovered how relatively easy it is to purchase illicit opioids online and have them shipped right to the buyer’s door. The online sales discovered led to at least 7 overdose deaths.
The FDA will be meeting with companies, researchers, and advocacy groups soon to identify solutions to the proliferation of online sales, reports the Washington Post.
According to the Surgeon General, opioid overdose deaths have doubled in recent years, from 21,089 in 2010 to 42,249 in 2016.
What do you think?
Do you support the surgeon general’s advisory? Do you carry naloxone, or would you with training? Do you think internet companies need to take a more active role in policing their platforms for illicit opioid sales? Does there need to be legislation enforcing penalties if they don’t? What other initiatives would best confront opioids in your community?
Tell us in the comments what you think, then use the Take Action button to tell your reps!
— Asha Sanaker
(Photo Credit: Wikimedia / Creative Commons)
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