Detroit Deaths from Fentanyl-Laced Heroin Overdoses Could Be Reduced by Medical Treatment
Tuesday October 3, 7:30 am ET
Physician training sessions will increase patient access to medical office-based treatment for opiate addiction
DETROIT, Oct. 3 /PRNewswire/ — A recent string of opiate overdoses and deaths in Detroit and elsewhere in Wayne County highlights the devastation of a dangerous new illegal drug mixture: the combination of heroin with fentanyl, a powerful opiate painkiller used in anesthesia and to treat cancer pain. According to the Medical Examiner’s office, so far there have been at least 122 fatal overdoses in the Detroit area attributable to heroin laced with fentanyl, while several times this many have occurred nationwide.

“Fentanyl-related overdoses in the Detroit area serve as a tragic reminder that there is a need for better patient access to aggressive and effective medical treatment for opiate addiction,” said Mark Menestrina. “Opioid addiction is a chronic disease that can afflict anyone and needs to be treated much like we treat other chronic conditions. Medical addiction treatment is oftentimes prescribed in the privacy of a doctor’s office, creating a confidential, convenient, and respectful atmosphere. Currently, there are not enough certified doctors in Detroit available to handle the increasing number of people seeking help for opiate addiction. It is critical that office-based medical addiction treatment become more widely available in order to contain this crisis and prevent more deaths throughout the greater metropolitan Detroit area.”
Opiate addictin, which includes heroin as well as the prescription painkillers oxycodone, hydrocodone, fentanyl, and morphine, is a growing public health problem that affects people from all walks of life. In Michigan, misuse of prescription opiate painkillers continues to be a major problem and, in Detroit, heroin remains widely available, according to a report by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). And as evidenced by the current surge in fentanyl-heroin use, drug dealers are targeting this mixture in the Detroit area.
The recent problems in Detroit and throughout Michigan reflect a national public health crisis — according to the most recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2006), published last month by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), approximately 4.7 million people currently misuse prescription pain relievers, second only to marijuana use. Among young adults, nonmedical use of prescription drugs increased from 5.4 percent in 2002 to 6.3 percent in 2005. In addition, in terms of new users, in 2005 more people 12 years and older — 2.2 million — misused opiates painkillers for the first time than any other drug, including marijuana and cocaine.
Many people do not fully understand the danger of misusing opiate painkillers such as fentanyl. A recent national survey on the public’s perceptions of opioid addiction, Prescription Painkiller/Heroin Addiction Treatment, revealed that nearly half of the U.S. public does not know that misusing prescription opioid painkillers is as harmful to the body, and fully as addictive, as heroin abuse.
Resources for Opiate Dependence and Its Addiction Treatment Programs
Opiate addiction is defined as a long-term brain disease by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). It is a treatable medical condition that is caused by changes in the chemistry of the brain. This dependence can start with use of medicine that a doctor prescribes for serious pain but that a person continues to use after the medical need for pain relief has passed. Or it may begin as recreational drug use that spins out of control.
Individuals who need more information about opiate addiction and its addiction treatment resources, either for themselves or for someone they are concerned about, have several options. Educational materials on opiate addiction are available to answer questions about this often-misunderstood disease and the treatments that are available for it. You can call 1-800-511-9225.
For more information on addiction treatment programs in Detroit or drug rehab programs in Michigan you can go to www.recoveryconnection.org or call the national addiction treatment helpline at 1-800-99-DETOX