"Are We Reaching The Top Of The Opioid Epidemic?"
The opioid epidemic claimed the lives of more than 63,000 Americans in 2016. If we are to call the rampant drug abuse and overdoses an 'epidemic,' then research suggests it may actually be past its peak, and the slowdown that is already occurring will continue, regardless of new federal proclamations. President Trump's newly-established opioid commission made an exhaustive list of over 50 recommendations for addressing the public health emergency. Drug addiction needs to be destigmatized, but prevention campaigns like 'DARE' may not help, experts worry. The public information campaign is necessary, but in itself would not be sufficient. Tim Brennan, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and director of the fellowship in addiction medicine program at the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai West, is in favor of efforts to destigmatize addiction in order to encourage people to seek treatment, he said that campaigns like the Drug Abuse Resistance Education effort of the 1980s and 1990s are misguided. "Destigmatization is wonderful, especially because what we see in the opioid crisis has a lot of parallels to the HIV/AIDs crisis," said Dr. Brennan. He said that fear kept people from getting tested and treated for HIV, but once it was longer seen as a disease of the marginalized, diagnoses and preventative measures increased and its spread lowered. "If we could do that for opioid disorder, that'd be wonderful, because a lot of people are scared to tell their families or anyone else about their addictions," Dr. Brennan added.
- Timothy Brennan, MD, Assistant Professor, Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Director, Fellowship in Addiction Medicine Program, Addiction Institute, Mount Sinai West