Addiction must stay on the agenda. It's time to focus on the demand | Opinion
A few years ago one could hardly escape talking about the epidemic of opioid addiction. Get together a group of community leaders and politicians, ask what problem to discuss, and the best bet was opioids.
So discuss we did. Not to much end. Sure, we reined in the pill profiteers. But black tar heroin and fentanyl soon filled the void, delivered by networks that exploited weak spots in enforcement and punishment. The addictions are still there. The point of entry through promiscuously prescribed painkillers has been narrowed.
I got good advice from our chief of police a few years ago: Read Sam Quinones' "Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic." I learned how cheap heroin filled the supply gap after pill mills were dismantled. I learned about the decentralized supply network that grew up to transport and deliver. Courts and law enforcement were at a real disadvantage.
The era of overprescription created addicts and ruined lives. Unfortunately, the demand continued to increase after the out-of-control pain management protocols were stopped, or at least curbed. The rates of addiction are growing regardless of the drug cocktail du jour.
Sunday school committees have agendas. So do Fortune 500 board meetings and government agencies. Societies have agendas too. Everybody and nobody is in charge. Somehow issues get attention. And then they don’t. How can we keep something on society’s agenda when society’s collective attention span appears to be shrinking?
The COVID-19 pandemic made the problem worse
Are we ready to move on from addiction? The COVID-19 pandemic made things worse in two ways. It exacerbated the isolation and feelings of helplessness that drive people to seek an opioid haze. And it took our collective eye off the opioid ball. Things are worse now than ever. Over 100,000 people are now dying annually from opioids, double the rate from 2015.
A look around any American city and more and more American towns reveals the extent of the addiction challenge. The supply is a certainty. There’s too much money to make and too many miles of border and coastline. Yes, it's time to put addiction back at the top of the agenda. And not just the supply side of the equation.
Don't condemn the addict or enable addiction
First, a few ground rules. Being addicted is not an acceptable state. It is not sustainable for any individual. It’s not acceptable for any society. People end up addicted for all kinds of reasons. And we are all human and make bad decisions. It’s wrong to condemn the addict. It’s also wrong to enable the behavior. It’s essential to provide treatment options far beyond those now available.
Mass society brings opportunities for spectacular economic growth and all sorts of opportunities for success. It’s led to a decline in many things that provide stability and meaning. The traditional family and mainstream religion have faded in much of modern culture. That’s left a life-meaning gap. Alienation and depression are more than happy to step in.
Humans make decisions for all kinds of reasons. People without hope in their lives do irrational things. Their time horizons are incredibly short, sometimes limited to getting high to cope with the next few hours. The fentanyl, heroin, meth or painkiller path has a perverse, destructive rationality.
We must break through hopelessness, short-sightedness
The challenge is breaking through that limit, providing images, words, thoughts that illuminate the ultimate outcomes. Decisions have consequences beyond the high of the moment. Life and consciousness are precious things, but not in our worst moments..
The next chapter of the addiction agenda must include a better understanding of dangerous drugs and how to better address their appeal. Another dose of “Reefer Madness” or “Just Say No” won’t help. The solution goes beyond a few memes. This calls for serious study, message development and skilled message delivery.
By all means, lock up the death merchants who manufacture and peddle meth, fentanyl and heroin. Don’t worry so much about marijuana. That recreational substance ship has sailed. There’s time to figure out the suicidal lure of the others.
William Lyons is Director of Policy Partnerships for the Howard H. Baker Jr. School of Public Policy and Public Affairs and Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Tennessee. He also served as Chief Policy Officer for Knoxville Mayors Bill Haslam, Daniel Brown and Madeline Rogero.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Howard Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy or the University of Tennessee.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Opinion: Addiction must stay on the agenda. Focus on the demand
