Substance Abuse in WV - West Virginia State Medical Association

President’s MessageDrinking The Pierian SpringThoughts on things we ought to know.A little learning is a dang’rous thing;Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring:There shallow draughtsintoxicate the brain,And drinking largely sobers us again.Fired at first sight with whatthe Muse imparts,In fearless youth we temptthe heights of Arts,While from the bounded level of our mindShort views we take, nor seethe lengths behind;But more advanced, beholdwith strange surpriseNew distant scenes ofendless science rise!From the Essay On CriticismAlexander PopeMay 1688—May 1744For West Virginia the escalatingnumber of prescription drugrelated deaths is yet another blackmark to the state and its people.The following facts illustrate thesignificance of substance use disordernationally and in West Virginia.• In the 10 years (1997-2007)the per capita retail purchasesof Methadone, Hydrocodoneand Oxycodone in the UnitedStates increased 13-fold, 4-foldand 9-fold respectively.• Nationally, unintentionaldrug poisoning deaths increased68% during 1999-2004.• The drug of choice foradolescents age 12-18 is no longerMarijuana, but prescription drugsfrom family, friends and others.• 4-6% of individuals 18-25 used pain relievers fornon-medical reasons.• A 2009 report from the WestVirginia Perinatal Partnershipshowed that one in five babies bornin the state suffered exposure todrugs or alcohol while in utero.• A 2007 Centers for DiseaseControl report indicated that thestate experienced a 550 percentincrease in drug overdose mortalityduring the years 1999-2004, andthe rate has continued to increasein subsequent years. This increasewas the largest in the nation.• According to the U.S. DrugEnforcement Administration,West Virginia leads the nationin methadone-related deaths percapita, and it has the fastest-growingrate of methadone overdoses.Substance abuse is a complexproblem that has societal,public health, and public safetyramifications that cross allsocioeconomic and demographicboundaries. In West Virginia it isestimated that substance abuse costsmore than $1.8 billion in 2006 and ofthat $470 million was in direct costs.Recent news reports havehighlighted the growing problemwith prescription drug diversion.This is an epidemic affecting not onlyadults but our children and teens.Although the WVSMA recognizesthe importance of policies thatprevent substance abuse andprescription drug diversion throughlaw enforcement mechanisms, wealso recognize that physicians have aresponsibility to provide appropriatetreatment to patients, and policiesshould not interfere with theirability to practice good medicine.The American Medical Associationreports that there is some evidenceto suggest that prescription drugmonitoring programs, like thecontrolled substances databasecurrently administered by the WestVirginia Board of Pharmacy, reducethe amount of opioid prescriptionsfor pain management. Physiciansand other prescribers of controlledsubstances must adequatelybalance treating pain againstoverprescribing. Under-treatmentof pain is not only detrimentalto patients but can result in civilliability and professional sanctions.Through the collective effortsof knowledgeable members of thelegislature, Senators Evan JenkinsWest Virginia Medical Journal