Opinion/Your Turn: Opioid use spiked during pandemic, prevention efforts must be redoubled
Cape Cod is a popular destination for many New Englanders and is a desirable location to travel especially, during the summer months. But beyond the influx of summer tourists, there is a significant crisis facing Cape Cod towns. Below the surface of summer homes, band concerts, miles of coastline and quaint shops, there are staggering rates of deaths because of opioid use.
The Barnstable County Department of Human Services reports that at least 3% of Cape Cod residents are addicted to or dependent on heroin or prescription opioids. Cape Cod Healthcare defines opioids to “include heroin and other medications to relieve pain such as Vicodin, OxyContin, Percocet, codeine, morphine and other related drugs.”
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The United States Department of Health and Human Services describes the increased rate at which opioids were prescribed especially, in the late 90s. People were told by the medical community that they were not addictive, and they were commonly prescribed in large amounts. This increase in opioids being prescribed led to significant misuse. By 2017, the opioid misuse crisis was declared a public health emergency.
According to the Banyan Treatment Center, a drug and alcohol rehab facility, in 2012 Cape Cod had an opiate prescription rate that was 24% higher than the state average. Although these rates have since dropped, their effects may still be lingering. In the town of Barnstable alone, there were 14 opioid-related deaths in 2021 according to Massachusetts data.
While this has been an ongoing battle, COVID-19 led to conditions such as isolation and significant stressors both socially, and economically that worsened the crisis. In Falmouth, the town reported a 20% increase in overdoses from 2019 to 2020. From March 2019 to December 2019 there were 100 overdoses, compared with 120 overdoses during the same time in 2020.
The Cape does have some unique factors that make things more complex. For example, Nancy Regan, Substance Use Disorder Program Manager at the Community Health Center of Cape Cod, describes that a lack of transportation on the Outer Cape prevents people from getting the help and treatment that they need.
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While it is evident that this is not a new problem, it is critical that action steps are taken to help those who are addicted to opioids. Some strides have been made already. In 2016, Massachusetts created a prescription drug monitoring system to track the usage of these drugs.
Additionally, money from legal settlements with manufacturers and distributors of opioids will be distributed to Massachusetts towns. Cape Cod will get upwards of $8 million dollars over the next 15 years. Barnstable will get $2 million, and Falmouth will get $1 million. Kate Lena, Program Manager for Substance Use Prevention in Barnstable, says “the county is currently coming up with recommendations for how that money should be spent.” For now, it is important that friends, neighbors, and members of the community can use Narcan, which can be administered to reverse an opioid overdose rapidly and can save lives.
Cape Cod is clearly no exception to what the nation has been experiencing for years with the opioid crisis. While some strides and attention have been given to this matter, it is imperative that resources and programs continue to be devoted to fighting this epidemic on the Cape and beyond.
Olivea Blount is a graduate student at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health in Washington. D.C.
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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape Cod opioid use spiked during the pandemic, we must focus on prevention
