releases: http://susanwbrooks.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/prescription-drug-abuse-symposium-focuses-on-heroin-epidemic
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| http://susanwbrooks.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/prescription-drug-abuse-symposium-focuses-on-heroin-epidemic | Prescription Drug Abuse Symposium Focuses On Heroin Epidemic | 2016-10-14 | 2016 | 2016-10 | Republican | House | IN | Susan Brooks | B001284 | susanwbrooks.house.gov | legacy | More than 900 people are in Indianapolis for a symposium on the country’s opioid crisis. It’s a two-day event, and much of Thursday’s focus was on altering how drugs are prescribed. This is the seventh year for the Prescription Drug Abuse Symposium, but the first time it has focused on heroin abuse and how to reduce its supply. In order to do that, officials including Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller are talking about where the heroin epidemic began: prescription opioids. “I think the use of opioids, and particularly in large quantities, is not really something that we should have ever started our youth on, and now they’re starting to recognize that,” Zoeller says. Congresswoman Susan Brooks says part of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, a federal bill signed into law in July, aims to change the way opioids are prescribed — starting with education. “We’ve been pushing the medical educators to be part of the solution,” Brooks says. “Begin these discussions about pain and prescribing practices first year of med school.” According to the Drug Enforcement Association, four in five new heroin users start out by misusing prescription painkillers. Day two of a drug abuse symposium in Indianapolis focused on prevention. Officials say a disproportionate amount of time and money is focused on what to do after someone gets addicted rather than preventing someone from becoming an addict. The philosophy behind drug prevention has changed in the last 20 years, says Jasynda Radanovich, program manager of education and training services at the Indiana Prevention Resource Center. She says the iconic ‘This is your brain on drugs’ video, which featured an egg being fried in a skillet, represents a fear-based approach that hasn’t proven successful. “There’s been decades of research about fear tactics that show a lot of interesting information, one is that they can have the opposite effect, or that they are not taken seriously, or they’re not understood,” she says. Radanovich says comprehensive, individualized strategies are needed, but notes that nuanced tactics are more expensive. In respect to funding, professor of prevention from University of Washington J. David Dawkins says it’s easier for lawmakers and media outlets to notice those already suffering, instead of those at risk of becoming an addict. Dawkins says public health advocates must become more vocal about their needs. Indiana ranked 48th on public health funding in a 2015 report from the United Health Foundation. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |