by Mike Sherfy, KnoxPages.com reporter
Addiction is a disease. That was the key point of a presentation and discussion held at the Fredericktown Police Department on Wednesday evening. Addiction is a disease that is chronic, progressive, and potentially fatal but, like other diseases, the lives of those who suffer from addiction can be improved if proper treatment is available.
Mary Samuell and Kristina Foreman of The Freedom Center launched the discussion with a presentation about the drugs most commonly used and abused in Knox County. Some, like methamphetamines, long the rural drug of choice, were predictable and their effects are well-known. Others, such as “Spice” and “Bath Salts”, were newer and more exotic but their effects (in terms of cognitive impairment, overall decline in health, escalating usage, and addiction) seemed to be much the same. Use of most of the drugs described in their presentation, however, appear to have peaked in Knox County—even if the decline in usage has not been dramatic. But, according to the presenters, another class of drugs has increased to take their place: heroin and other opioids (which include prescription medications such as morphine and oxycodone).
The rise of heroin and other opioids in Knox County may come as no surprise to members of the community, but Samuell and Foreman presented an unvarnished set of facts about opioid use and abuse that helped those in their audience better understand how these drugs work, the effects they have on those who use them, the effects of drug addiction on the families of addicts, and more.
They placed Knox County into perspective by pointing out how the “drug problem” at home compares to counties elsewhere in the state, they offered anecdotes and statistics about recent developments in Knox County, and they returned to the overall theme of the presentation: Drug addiction does not arise from a failure of moral character. Samuell noted in particular that many instances of opioid abuse begin with a legitimate prescription of painkillers to a patient. Over time, however, the pain goes away but the addiction replaces it—and prescribed drugs turn from legitimate medication to a drug problem.
Addiction, their presentation made clear, is a biological reaction that may not be curable but is definitely treatable. Treatment, however, is not always readily available. Samuell and Foreman noted that the Freedom Center has many treatment options but, due to funding cuts following the economic crash of 2008, they remain more limited than they have been in the past. They made clear, though, that not all of the Freedom Center’s limitations are financial. Samuell noted that doctors in Knox County are reluctant to prescribe the medications used to help opioid addicts address their physical addictions—forcing recovering addicts to rely on physicians in Columbus who are unable to react so quickly and conveniently as could a local practitioner. They noted also that the stigma attached to drug addiction leads family and friends of other addicts to judge them for their addiction rather than help them take steps to recovery.
That is where community education comes in. Through presentations such as this—followed by frank discussions among the community members and law enforcement officers present—awareness of the complex nature of drug addiction becomes more widely known. They also make community members who attend them—many of whom made clear that drug addiction affected them directly through family members and other loved ones—aware of the opportunities for treatment that places like the Freedom Center offer (including group and individual counseling, counseling geared specifically to women and adolescents, counseling to those incarcerated at the Knox County Jail, and intensive outpatient programs for addicts attempting to get clean, stay clean, and change their lifestyles).
If the informal discussion that followed the presentation is any indication, the county’s police and its courts are becoming as interested in helping drug addicts address their addiction as is the Freedom Center. They—and the public in general—just need to embrace more fully the notion that addiction is a disease, that there is no “quick fix” to cure it, but that treatment administered under proper supervision and continuing for some duration can help.
The event was sponsored by the Freedom Center, the Fredericktown Police Department, and the Adult Court Services Office.
For more information on the Freedom Center and its activities and programs visit their website: http://www.freedomctr.net/
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Editor’s note: If you or someone in your family is being treated or previously been treated for heroin/opioid addiction KP encourages you to share your story. We, along with other local media, will be focusing on this issue during May. If you care to share your story, please contact Marty Trese, Editor@knoxpages.com.
