68 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • SEPTEMBER 2021
OPIOID EPIDEMIC FLARES UP, BUT HELP’S ON THE WAY
“For almost 40 years I’ve been helping
people recover and I don’t say that to
self-aggrandize myself,” he said. “My
story is also a story of the hundreds
of people who helped me, who gave
me the resources for my recovery. I
became educated, I work and pay taxes,
I support my wonderful wife and
five children. I contribute to society
instead of languishing in jail. The key
to turning this current crisis around is
not just getting individuals sober, it’s to
keep them sober so they can be part of
the fabric of their community.”
CRISIS ON THE RISE
The already unacceptably high number
of fatal overdoses in the United States
surged nearly 30% nationwide to a record
93,331 deaths in 2020, according to a recent
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) report. The rise is due
in large part to the growing prevalence of
fentanyl, a powerful opioid pain-killing
drug, and the struggle from Covid-19 lockdowns,
isolation, lost jobs and an overall
state of fear and unrest. Locally, on Long
Island, Suffolk County has a higher rate
of overdoses than Nassau — 304 in the
former versus 216 in the latter, with both
counties seeing an increase over 2019,
according to the latest New York State
Department of Health data.
“Preliminary data has indicated that Suffolk
County is experiencing an uptick in
overdoses during the pandemic, which
is obviously very concerning,” Suffolk
County District Attorney Timothy Sini
has said. “Whenever there is a fatal overdose,
we treat that investigation similarly
to a homicide; we take immediate steps
to try to determine who sold the drugs to
that victim. I’ve said many times before
that we’re not going to arrest ourselves
out of the drug epidemic, but law enforcement
will continue to be vigilant
and to arrest and prosecute drug dealers
who are peddling this poison in our
communities.”
Among the recent local victims was
Swainson Brown, the 40-year-old executive
chef at Shelter Island’s Pridwin Hotel
who was found dead at his home on the
night of Aug. 13. Brown was one of four
people to die that day, including one in
Greenport, another in East Marion and a
third in Southold. Several of the fatalities
were in the Village of Greenport.
In the North Fork fatalities, 51-year-old
Greenport resident Lavain Creighton
allegedly sold the lethal cocaine to two
overdose victims, Brown and an East
Marion man identified only as “M.L.”
Creighton’s alleged supplier, 46-year-old
Justin Smith of Smithtown, was also
arrested in possible connection with the
case, criminal possession of a controlled
substance and criminally using drug
paraphernalia. An investigation into his
role in the deaths is ongoing.
HELP ON THE WAY?
Four major U.S. drug companies agreed
to a $26 billion settlement this summer
to end lawsuits over the opioid crisis, but
treatment advocates expressed frustration
that the money will be slow to arrive
and worry it could be misspent.
The agreement ended years of litigation
between state attorneys general and Johnson
& Johnson and the three largest U.S.
drug distributors, AmerisourceBergen
Corporation, Cardinal Health Inc., and
McKesson Corporation.
The distributors will make payments
over 18 years and Johnson & Johnson over
nine years. But to receive the maximum
payout, the deal will need near universal
agreement from states and local governments
to end thousands of lawsuits alleging
the companies fueled a crisis that has
contributed to nearly 500,000 overdose
deaths since 1999.
"As someone on the ground, $26 billion
makes a flashy headline," said Ryan
Hampton, who is in recovery from addiction
and has worked with nonprofits
and lawmakers on the opioid crisis. "But
spread over 18 years, it’s pennies.”
The state attorneys general and lawyers
for local governments said settling the
litigation would avoid years of trials
and appeals. The agreement is the
second-largest cash settlement in U.S.
history, but Hampton said even the size
was disappointing.
"In 2017, we were told this could be larger
than the tobacco litigation," referring to
the 1998 tobacco settlement with cigarette
makers that totaled $246 billion paid over
25 years.
If the opioid settlement becomes effective,
it will provide a framework for
settling cases against other companies
that allegedly contributed to the crisis,
and could lead to billions of dollars in
additional payments.
Paul Geller, a lead negotiator of the opioid
agreement who represents local governments,
said they worked with public
health experts to identify best uses for
the $26 billion, which are detailed over
14 pages in the distributors' agreement.
"We couldn’t risk money going into general
funds and being used to fill potholes,”
he said.
Joshua Sharfstein, M.D., vice dean for
public health practice at the Johns Hopkins
Bloomberg School of Public Health,
said he was concerned that 30% can be
used to repay governments for money
spent on past expenditures.
"I think there are some good concepts in
this agreement, but there is a lot of room
for implementation," said Sharfstein.
"Vigilance is going to be really important."
Geller said money used on prior expenses
must be abatement related and he cited
the example of a city repaying itself for a
long-term investment related to opioids,
such as an ambulance.
States are encouraged to follow the lead of
New York, which created a lock box fund
in June that is overseen by experts who
are empowered to ensure the money is
spent on addressing the addiction crisis.
Some advocates fear the money will be
directed to programs only available to
people who have been convicted of a
crime or that restricts the use of opioid
addiction treatment medications such as
buprenorphine.
Michelle Wright, Wright, national policy
and advocacy director of the National
Harm Reduction Coalition, which focuses
on preventing overdose deaths, said she's
concerned spending will been overseen
by state agencies that are removed from
the crisis.
"They don't have the lived experience of
why the money should be used a certain
way," she said.
Others said they were concerned that
boards could worsen racial disparities
in addiction treatment.
Courtney Hunter, vice president, state
policy of Shatterproof, a group fighting
the crisis, has been working to develop
state laws similar to New York's laws to
direct the uses for the settlement funds.
Hunter hopes that if the settlement funds
paid over many years are paid with proper
controls, they can create sustainable
programs that can integrate substance
abuse disorders into the wider healthcare
system, starting with primary care.
-With Billy Parry, Oliver Peterson, and
Reuters
PRESS HEALTH
continued from page 67
Tablets of the opioid-based hydrocodone at a pharmacy in 2017. (REUTERS/Bryan Woolston/File Photo/File Photo)
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