Prescription drug abuse is rampant in Oklahoma, with
abusers being identified at younger and younger ages. Oklahoma ranks in the top 10 nationally of
overdoses and deaths related to opioid abuse. Additionally, Indian Health
Service reports that opioid abuse-related deaths among tribal populations is
almost double the general population.
Opioid painkillers like oxycodone, hydrocodone and
hydromorphone account for about 75 percent of prescription drug overdose
deaths. We have a crisis in Oklahoma and throughout Indian Country, and we
must raise awareness of the issue and create sustainable prevention plans for
families, schools and community organizations. It’s important our Cherokee
Nation youth know the importance of not only physical health, but mental
health. That’s why we are striving to ensure Cherokee Nation citizens are
healthy and safe.
Our tribe’s behavioral health department has
prevention coordinators who are working to secure drop bags at area pharmacies
with important information on safe use, safe storage and safe disposal of
prescription drugs. The safe drop off bags and locations get no longer needed
drugs out of medicine cabinets and homes. On one recent Saturday afternoon in Wagoner,
our team collected more than 3,000 pills for disposal and distributed lockboxes
for families to keep dangerous and addictive painkillers away from children.
This effort is a partnership with the Oklahoma
Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, as well as the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Our tribal marshals are also part of a new project
the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the IHS and the White House Office of National
Drug Control Policy have instituted. The BIA is training officers to recognize
opioid overdoses and be authorized to dispense a dose of naloxone, which can
reverse an opioid overdose by counterbalancing the drug’s slowing of the
victim’s nervous and respiratory systems.
This is a national pilot program, and we are proud
to be involved along with other tribal officers in Oklahoma. After the
training, our Cherokee Nation marshals will be better equipped to identify and
divert overdoses, which will save lives.
We need a comprehensive response to this problem.
We’ve addressed education with pharmacies and equipped our law enforcement
officers with better information and tools to deal with prescription drug abuse
within our 14-county tribal jurisdictional boundaries. In addition to
education, we must ensure addiction treatment is available to the thousands of
people who need it.
Addiction and the escalating rate of overdoses are a
simple matter of life and death. We are taking a serious look at how we can
best help our citizens to break the cycle of abuse. I hope you will join me in
this effort.
Wado.
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