New England Public Radio

Detox Facility Headed To Franklin County By December, According To Opioid Task Force

Public attention towards the heroin addiction crisis in Massachusetts has waned in recent months, but efforts to curb the rate of opiate use and overdoses continues. For Franklin County, a group met yesterday in Greenfield to get updates on the work of many health, public safety, and government officials on those efforts.

The most concrete development since the opioid task force formed last year is the planned creation of a 32 bed detox facility in Franklin County, which the group’s coordinator says will be open in December. There’s currently no detox center in the county.

“Are those beds going to be enough for recovery? Absolutely not, but it’s going to be a great step forward,” says Northwestern District Attorney Dave Sullivan. “It’s really been through the work of the legislature and the governor, but most importantly, community voices that have moved the whole opioid crisis forward so we have some real solutions to a real problem.”

But it’s hard to tell whether those solutions are showing results yet. Sullivan says he thinks the number of people addicted to opioids has remained steady, but the rate of overdoses may be different.

“The overdose rate hind of ebbs and flows, and we’ve seen a decline since January, but over the long term, over the last two or three years, we’ve seen an increase,” says Sullivan.

According to hospital statistics cited by the task force, over a third of all substance abuse cases in Franklin County are people ages 18 to 29. So to prevent future drug addiction, the task force is looking further back – to middle school students. Kat Allen is with a group that will train teachers in most of Franklin County’s school districts on a curriculum aimed at teaching “life skills.”

“Talking to young people in middle school which is where we know prevention is most effective in terms of bang for your buck, you want to be talking to kids right before they’re at the age of using,” says Allen.

Any results from that effort will take years. It’s a long-term approach to a problem with no short-term fix.

Candidates For 9th Hampden House District Agree On All But Guns

ELECTION 2014

The three candidates vying for the seat now held by retiring Massachusetts state Representative Sean Curran of Springfield saw eye-to-eye on most of the issues discussed at a candidate roundtable, but they diverged on gun control.

MORE: New England Public Radio’s voter guide for primary elections in western and central Massachusetts and northern Connecticut

Two of the candidates, Ed Collins and Jose Tosado, both supported a provision in the state’s recently passed gun legislation that would give local police chiefs more power in deciding who gets a rifle or shotgun license.

Collins said he would have voted for the bill had he been in the legislature.

“Having reasonable controls over who gets to own a gun and under what circumstances, and how guns are sold and making sure they don’t get into the wrong hands just makes common sense,” said Collins.

“Well, finally, we’re going to disagree on something,” said Peter Murphy, the third candidate. “I would have voted against the bill primarily because of provision we just talked about…All it does it make it harder for lawful gun owners to get a gun.”

All three came out against a referendum to repeal the state’s casino law, saying Springfield needs the jobs and economic boost.

Candidate roundtables are part of a collaboration between The Republican newspaper, CBS3 and New England Public Radio.

Worcester Takes Steps To Stop Spike In Fatal Drug Overdoses

In the wake of at least nine fatal drug overdoses in Worcester in less than a week, the city is taking the problem into its own hands by trying to get those struggling with addiction the help they need.

The city issued a public health advisory on Wednesday and have been distributing leaflets warning people, particularly those affected by addiction, about the alarming rate of overdoses. In the past week, there have been more than 30 overdoses in the city — about a third of them fatal, said Worcester Public Health Director Derek Brindisi. Although tests are still being done, Brindisi said officials believe the heroin is mixed with something else.

“We’re using the term bad heroin or contaminated heroin. There’s no such thing as good heroin,” Brindisi said. “But the heroin that’s being used right now we do believe is being cut with some type of impurity, poison that is linking these deaths.”

Last week three people were found dead in one Worcester apartment, authorities believe resulting from the same batch of heroin. Price is a major contributor to the problem, said Worcester officials, where a bag of heroin on average costs about $8.

“This is something we’ve never seen before where literally you have a situation where somebody can put a needle in their arm and in seconds be dead,” City Manager Ed Augustus said. “So we want to get the word out about how people can protect themselves.”

The city is trying to get the word out through outreach workers, having them warn active drug users about the increased danger.

“We would start off with asking if you heard about what was going on,” said Daniel Aponte, an outreach educator at AIDS Project Worcester. “We would find out what you like to inject, we would find out if you know your dealer, definitely awareness of where you’re picking up and making sure you know the knowledge of the stuff that you are using.”

Aponte and his colleagues give users the anti-overdose drug Narcan, bleach kits to clean syringes and other items to try to keep them safe. They also distribute the public health advisory flier, warn them not to use alone and not to mix drugs. But for Aponte, the overdose problem is a personal one.

“Actually a couple of family members did pass away this past weekend so it did hit home,” Aponte said. “I guess it kind of just fuels the fire to keep doing what I’ve been doing for the past five years.”

Next week Worcester officials are scheduled to meet with medical officials and treatment providers to discuss further steps to try to address the problem.

In Less Than A Week, Nine Fatal Overdoses In Worcester

Worcester officials are warning drug users in the city to avoid heroin after at least nine drug overdose deaths since Friday.

MORE: New Law Aimed At Opioid Crisis Expands Treatment Access

The Telegram & Gazette reports public health officials issued an advisory Wednesday that there may be contaminated heroin on the street. People are urged to call 911 if they see a drug overdose.

Police Chief Gary Gemme said heroin is suspected in at least eight deaths. The ninth was discovered Wednesday. He said significant resources are being devoted to finding the deadly drugs.

Three men police believe died from overdoses were found in an apartment Monday.

Authorities say the city is on track for more than 500 drug overdoses this year. Massachusetts and other states have been battling an increase in heroin overdoses and opioid addiction. Gov. Deval Patrick has declared it a public health emergency.

New Law Aimed At Opioid Crisis Expands Treatment Access

In response to the state’s opioid crisis, Massachusetts is about to expand access to substance abuse treatment.

As Gov. Deval Patrick entered his outer office to sign a bill aimed to curb substance abuse Wednesday, applause erupted from the hundreds of people gathered to watch — many of them lawmakers and health care providers and those struggling with their own or a loved one’s addiction.

“I am proud of this bill of and I’m proud of the way it came together with so many different people contributing so much insight,” Patrick said at the bill signing.

Senate President Therese Murray pointed to recent numbers from Worcester, where there have been eight overdose deaths since Friday. That number rose to at least nine deaths as of Wednesday night, causing the city to issue a public health advisory.

A Massachusetts mother, whose 26-year-old son recently died of an overdose, gave Murray a call this week.

“What the mother said is: ‘I know he’s not in pain anymore and I know where he is,’ ” Murray recalled. “Something has to be done, and we have all the tools in this bill.”

Among the law’s provisions: the removal of any pre-authorization required for substance abuse treatment, and allowing 14 days of inpatient treatment if deemed medically necessary.

But, while the state is in crisis, there is no evidence showing that length of time is effective, said Lora Pellegrini, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans.

“Our biggest fear right now is setting this arbitrary 14 days with no medical evidence to support it,” Pellegrini said. “We’re going to see a lot of people in inpatient care who don’t need to be and a lot of people who do need those services will be unable to get beds. And we’re going to drive up costs.”

But Patrick stands by the new legislation, estimating that it will actually end up saving money.

“It is evidence-based and it’s based on evidence between a doctor and his or her patient, which is how a decision should be made,” he said.

The governor signed the bill just a few hours after Sen. Edward Markey convened a group of national and local leaders, medical professionals and law enforcement to look into a more comprehensive way to deal with the opioid crisis. They discussed implementing stronger prescription drug monitoring and allowing more doctors to prescribe the addiction medication suboxone.

Markey praised the bill the governor was about to sign because of the rising number of overdose deaths.

“It’s something that’s happening every minute of every day all across Massachusetts, all across our country,” Markey said. “It’s time for us to begin to be the leader nationally — that’s what this legislation does — it begins the process but there is a lot more to be done.”

The bill will be reviewed by the Health Policy Commission before it goes into effect in October of next year.

New England Governors Say They’ll Work Together On Region’s Heroin Issues

Five New England Governors met Tuesday to discuss a regional strategy for fighting the surge in heroin and opioid addiction.

The governors of Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Hampshire announced they would share prescription data among their states to identify suspicious prescribing practices and doctor shopping for painkillers.

“Someone in the state of Connecticut who’s shopping might very easily cross the border into the Commonwealth [of Massachusetts] and very easily get a prescription,” Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy said.

Each of the five states has seen an explosion in heroin and opioid addiction.

“I had so many Vermonters coming up to me saying , ‘Why is it that I’m losing my son to this addiction? Why is it that I’m losing my daughter, my mom, my dad, my cousin, my niece, my nephew?'” said Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin.

The governors say a shortage of treatment beds is an issue. They’re exploring ways to have people who can’t get into addiction programs in their home state go to a neighboring state if there are beds available.

They plan to meet again in mid July.