re: I was appointed to the AL Council on Opiod Misuse and Addiction (UPDATE #2)

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rooster108bm

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That awesomely sad.

However, it was 6 years ago.

Actually met with McCutcheon two weeks ago when he came down to Gulf Shores for a chamber event. He seems reasonable. He's now the speaker.

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Stricter penalties on MDs that over prescribe... computer system that tracks px, counter dr hopping for drugs.

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Has been in place in Alabama for around two years.

Any pharmacist or doctor in this state can quickly and easily pull up any patient and find out their narcotic prescription history.

Example, a patient goes to Dr. Jones complaining of back pain. Patient gets a script from Dr. Jones for 60 Vicodin. Patient gets that script filled at Walgreens on January 15th.

Patient goes to Dr. Smith across town on February 1st and complains of back pain to get more pain pills. The prescription monitoring program will either be accessed by Dr. Smith - or more likely - a pharmacist. Docs are less likely to check but 100% of pharmacists that value their license will check.

If the doc checks, patient will not get a script and most likely will notify Dr. Jones of patient's drug seeking behavior. Resulting in patient no longer getting opioids from either doctor.

Let's say Dr. Smith doesn't check and gives patient a script for 60 Norco. Patient goes to CVS to get the script filled. Pharmacist checks patient's name on the program and sees "60 VICODIN - 1/15/2017 - Dr. John Jones - filled at Walgreens".

Pharmacist returns to patient and says "Sorry. Can't fill this. You had a prescription for 30 days worth of narcotics filled 15 days ago at Walgreens from Dr. Jones."

Doctor shopping is a thing of the past for the most part and almost all the true pill mills in the state (Aggarwal in Huntsville, Ali in Jasper, Couch & Ruan in Mobile, etc) have been shut down and the doctors arrested and suspended from practicing medicine.

And I'm fine with all of that. But now the state is utilizing it's control over Medicare and Medicaid and using it's influence over commercial insurance to put pain management docs out of business by withholding their reimbursement.

And THAT is bullshite. The two docs I mentioned in my previous post were not breaking any laws but the state medical board doesn't like how they practice medicine so now they are targeting them by other means.

The whole situation is a hot mess.

Ketamine is used quite a bit in Europe

I am actually working to grow a chain of ketamine clinics in the us to help combat opioids addiction among other things Not FDA approved though.

Who are the other members on the council? I googled but couldn't find it.

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Who are the other members on the council? I googled but couldn't find it.

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It's strange...It hasn't really been formally announced.
I have been led to believe that it will be a slew of doctors, former judges, and a couple of parents of deceased opioid addicts.

I do know, for a fact, that there is a meteorologist from Montgomery on the committee for whatever reason.

I'm there as a "policy specialist".

Here's my 2 cents.I,of course agree with Med Pot and other natural alternatives or additives that they tell us are against the law.

I'm soon to be 56.I had a knee replacement a year ago,I'm going to have to have Shoulder Surgery,and I have 4 Bulging Discs in my Lumbar Spine.

Yet because all the young idiots are getting their hands on strong narcotics,and sometimes with fatal outcomes,I suffer.

I'm in Pain Management,taking Norco.

Doctors should not be allowed to prescribe Sched 2 Norcotics(besides 1 or 2 Scripts of Norco if they have Surgery or break a bone)to anyone under 40.

jmho

eta: I live in AL.The Doctors and Pharmacies are connected.It doesn't matter when a Doctor writes me a prescription.No Pharmacy will fill it until the sufficient time has passed,usually 28 days,since your last prescription.

good for you for getting involved!

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I was appointed by the governor's office to be on an executive committee to discuss ways to combat the rise in opioid addiction/overdoses here in the state.

I am in Montgomery now and we meet tomorrow.

I will discuss why there are so many addicts and so much heroin in our state/country (Mexico + FDA + pain management).

My proposed solutions are:
Kratom
Medical Marijuana
Decriminalized drugs (Portugese model)

as well as what other states are doing:
Oregon: making it more difficult to get scripts by having extra loopholes to jump through
Vermont: increased access to buprenorphine (much better than methadone)
Rhode Island: four part plan of: more treatment, overdose rescue, prevention, and recovery.

I am a big proponent of medical pot and buprenorphine.

Any other suggestions before they laugh me out of the room?




In all seriousness, the governors office contacted me about my "different perspective", so at least they are willing to listen.


An Update on Alabama Council on Opioid Misuse and Addiction (LONG):
We had our first session today in which we all spoke about our backgrounds. I was the only one with a drug policy background which is most likely why I was in a room full of doctors, judges, law enforcement, and bureaucrats.

There are six subcommittees:
Data collection
Prevention/Education
Treatment/Recovery Support
Prescriber/Dispenser Practices
Rescue (First responders)
Law Enforcement


After we were dividing up into the subcommittees (I'm on prevention/education), I stood up and asked about "alternative policies", specifically the Portugal model of decriminalization of all drugs. The Mental Health Commissioner of Alabama, Dr. Perdue, stepped to the microphone and said that "all options are on the table". This does not mean that AL will decriminalize drugs, but this does mean that they are thinking about taking a "health-first" stance when it comes to drug use, rather than a "criminal-first" stance that has been tried for over 40 failed years of drug policy.


Afterwards, several committee members were interested in my decade+ research, and I can promise you that there are people in power that are having a "change of perception" when it comes to drug policy here in Alabama.

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I'm not yet convinced that complete decriminalization is the answer (I still penalize some aspects of the supply and distribution side for hard drugs) but I like that you guys are taking a practical solutions/harm reduction approach. People don't realize how much good can be done to influence issues at the state and local level. Good for 'Bama. Good for you.

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I am an absolute firm believer that if we fix drug policy in this nation, a litany of issues will be solved.

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If you make a dent in this state the sky will be the limit for you.

As far as opioids go, the government should give Suboxone away for free. It would save billions of dollars.

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SJTide

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Sorry to hear about your bro.
All too common story, I'm afraid.

Alternatives are on their way.
I promise.