Is Purdue Pharma-Sponsored 'Partnership at drugfree.org' a Ruse?

"Integrity is the lifeblood of democracy -- Deceit is a poison in its veins." Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy
Part 1 of 2

Courtesy: soberliving.com

(MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.) - The Partnership at Drugfree.org was launched in 1987 and makes some self-serving statements concerning its "public education campaign" -- but is it bogus?

Are bereaved families of dead victims of the epidemic of prescription drugs being lied to? Straight off the Partnership at Drugfree.org website is the below statement with some very impressive statistics that indicate illicit drug use has fallen by 32%.

It appears Partnership at Drugfree.org is taking credit for bringing a level of success to the epidemic of drug use in the U.S.  So why is the U.S. and Canada in a Tsunami of drug addiction, death and abuse while the pharmaceutical industry pushes for the "undertreatment of pain" in America -- and the Partnership at Drugfree.org has Purdue Pharma as a sponsor --  the company that has made billions of dollars by criminally marketing OxyContin?

(Marianne Skolek's comments to quotations in articles are in parenthesis).

Partnership at Drugfree.org statement off their website --

Why Partner With Us?

Cited by The New York Times as “one of the most effective drug prevention organizations in the US”, The Partnership at Drugfree.org was selected as one of 13 organizations worldwide to receive the prestigious Discovery Health Channel’s Medical Honors award for its extraordinary contributions to world health. Since 1987, when the organization launched the largest public education campaign in our nation’s history, the use of illicit drugs has fallen by more than 32%, equaling 7.4 million fewer drug users.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) disagrees with Partnership at Drugfree.org --

Drug overdose death rates in the United States have never been higher.

The increase in drug overdose death rates is largely because of prescription opioid painkillers.

• Among deaths attributed to drugs, the most common drug categories are cocaine, heroin, and a type of prescription drug called opioid painkillers.
• “Opioids” are synthetic versions of opium. They have the ability to reduce pain but can also suppress breathing to a fatal degree when taken in excess. Examples of opioids are oxycodone (OxyContin®), hydrocodone (Vicodin®), and methadone.

• Because opioids cause euphoria, they have been associated increasingly with nonmedical, recreational use. Opioids are now widely available in illicit markets in the United States.

Overall drug overdose death rates in the United States vary by state and region.

• States in the Appalachian region and the Southwest have the highest death rates. (See Figure 3 or read text version).
• The highest drug overdose death rate was found in West Virginia, which was nearly 7 times that of the state with the lowest drug overdose death rate, South Dakota.
• In 2007, states such as California and New York had some of the lowest overall death rates among all states because of low opioid overdose rates. In contrast, in the early 1990s these states had some of the highest overall rates, largely because of high heroin and cocaine overdose rates.

 

Recommendations by Center for Disease Control

• Use opioid medications for acute or chronic pain only after determining that alternative therapies do not deliver adequate pain relief. The lowest effective dose of opioids should be used.
• In addition to behavioral screening and use of patient contracts, consider random, periodic, targeted urine testing for opioids and other drugs for any patient less than 65 years old with noncancer pain who is being treated with opioids for more than six weeks.
• If a patient’s dosage has increased to 120 morphine milligram equivalents per day or more without substantial improvement in pain and function, seek a consult from a pain specialist.
• Do not prescribe long-acting or controlled-release opioids (e.g., OxyContin®, fentanyl patches, and methadone) for acute pain.
• Periodically request a report from your state prescription drug monitoring program on the prescribing of opioids to your patients by other providers.

• To the extent permitted by applicable law, state prescription drug monitoring programs should routinely send reports to providers on patients less than 65 years old if they are being treated with opioids for more than 6 weeks by two or more providers or if there are signs of inappropriate use of controlled substances. (If legal authority to do so does not exist, work toward obtaining that authority.)
• To the extent permitted by applicable law, state and federal benefits programs should consider monitoring prescription claims information for signs of inappropriate use of controlled substances by patients. For patients whose use of multiple providers cannot be justified on medical grounds, such programs should consider reimbursing opioid prescription claims from a single designated physician and a single designated pharmacy.
• State and federal agencies should work to improve the availability of substance abuse treatment services.