‘Confronting the Opioid Epidemic’ event at Raven Oct. 3
According to the federal government (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), 72,000 people died in the United States in 2017 from opioid overdoses. That’s more people than died from diabetes, kidney disease, drunk driving or gun violence.
“This is a 55 percent increase from 2015, we have a huge problem here,” said David Anderson, a retired physician, who is part of the Northern Sonoma County Harm Reduction Task Force, formed in part to educate and combat opioid addiction.
The task force has been meeting all year, and according to organizer Terry Leach, it has four tactics.
1) “We are working with clinicians (doctors and dentists) to help them understand new treatment guidelines and to educate them — and addicts — about safe and effective medication that can help them kick addiction.”
2) The committee is also working with law enforcement agencies. “We want them to see addiction as a public health problem, not just a crime,” Leach said. (see story on Healdsburg Police being trained in the use of Narcan, which can counteract some of the effects of an overdose).
3) The committee is also working on prevention and education. Leach said its members are meeting with health educators at Alliance Medical Center and the Healdsburg Unified School District, and offering sample curriculum on the topic.
4) The committee is working on community awareness and is presenting “Confronting the Opioid Epidemic” at the Raven Performing Arts Theater on Wednesday, Oct. 3.
The event will feature demonstrations on the use of Narcan and fentanyl detection strips, a one-hour PBS documentary on the opioid epidemic, a panel discussion and questions from the audience.
“Everyone should come to this event,” said Leach, who said that addiction problems can surface as early as the teen years, can appear in seniors who have chronic pain, and can afflict anyone in between.
The event will include remarks by Walt Maack, a retired Healdsburg physician who lost his son to an overdose last year.
Meanwhile, Anderson recommends searching your medicine cabinet for unused medication, including medications that may be left over after an illness or injury, or after the death of a family member.
“A high percentage of those who overdosed got their first opioid from their home medicine cabinet,” Anderson said. “And don’t just get rid of opioids, but also tranquilizers, sleeping pills and even antibiotics, as they can become dangerous as they get old.”
Anderson recommends taking old medications, placing them in plastic bags and taking them to the Healdsburg Police Department 24 hours a day, where they can be disposed of confidentially.
Alliance Medical Center also accepts unused medications in plastic bags during clinic hours.
Syringes and needles may be taken to the Healdsburg District Hospital, as long as they are inside a sharps container, which can be purchased at any drug store.
Anderson also urges attendance at the Oct. 3 Raven event. “We all need to work hard on this issue so we don’t lose any more of our citizens,” he said.
The doors open on Oct. 3 at 6 p.m., the Narcan demonstrations begin at 6:30 and the program begins at 7 p.m.
