By Bill Piper, Special to The Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun Times
Copyright 2006 Chicago Sun-Times, Inc.
More than 100 people have died in recent months from overdoses of fentanyl-laced heroin, and the death toll will continue to climb this summer. Policymakers have been like deer caught in the headlights, but there are simple, inexpensive public health measures that can be enacted to save lives.
Studies have consistently found that most heroin overdose fatalities occur among longtime users with heavy dependence. Most fatalities involve use of alcohol or other depressants along with heroin. Many fatal overdoses also occur in the presence of witnesses, yet help rarely arrives until more than three hours after the overdose. The No. 1 reason given for not calling for help earlier is fear of police and criminal sanctions.
I know this last fact all too well. One summer, when I was 18, my friends and I bought several cases of beer and rented out a hotel room. We got quite drunk and stupid. This is a common youth experience that people love to talk about. What happened next is also a common youth experience, but people are usually too ashamed to talk about it.
A good friend passed out very early in the evening, which was unlike her. Someone said she had been doing cocaine at a previous party and might be overdosing. None of us knew anything about cocaine or its interaction with alcohol. We tried slapping her face to wake her up, but it didn’t work. Someone suggested calling 911, but others warned she would go to jail for cocaine use and we would all go to jail for underage drinking. Several people said she was probably just drunk and needed to sleep it off.
A friend picked up the phone and was about to call 911, but several people urged him not to. He paused and looked at me for an answer. My other friends did too. I don’t know why the decision came down to me. Based on the advice of a 19-year-old girl who worked in a hospital, I decided not to call 911. My friend turned out fine.
Twenty years later, I’m still haunted by that night. What if she had died? I’ve talked to dozens of people from all walks of life and heard similar stories. The most heartbreaking stories are when young people spend an hour debating whether to call 911, finally make the call, but are 15 minutes too late.
Tragedies like this are why I am involved in drug policy reform. No one should ever be afraid to call 911 when their friend might be overdosing.
Policymakers have their work cut out for them, but there are six things they can do right now to reduce overdose deaths:
— Establish 911 “Good Samaritan” policies that shield people who are using alcohol or other drugs from prosecution when they seek help for a friend.
— Provide people coming out of jail or drug treatment with overdose prevention materials and education.
— Train first responders and law enforcement (including correctional workers) how to respond to drug overdoses and save lives.
— Make naloxone (a short-acting opiate antagonist that can reverse the effects of an overdose) widely available. Law enforcement and first responders should carry it.
— Fund harm-reduction programs that work with drug users to prevent drug overdoses. Their work, which ranges from warning people not to use drugs alone to training them in CPR and rescue breathing, is crucial to saving lives.
— Establish grant programs to help cities and counties establish overdose prevention programs.
Thousands of people overdose from alcohol and other drugs each year. Their deaths are preventable, but only if policymakers step up to the plate. Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, for instance, has just introduced legislation to provide states with the money they need to save lives. Elected officials at all levels need to take action.
Bill Piper is director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance, www.drugpolicy.org.