Idaho officials are focusing their attention on the state’s growing opioids and substance abuse problems.
The Opioid and Substance Use Disorder Advisory Group met for the first time Thursday, with Governor Brad Little calling the crisis a “very comprehensive and complex problem.” Little says Idaho has significantly reduced the amount of opioid prescriptions written for patients, though clamping down too hard could have unintended consequences.
Dr. Christine Hahn, the medical director for the Division of Public Health agreed, saying stopping opioid prescriptions for legitimate patients could force them to turn to heroin or even fentanyl. She says that, in turn, could increase overdoses.
248 people died from drug overdoses last year in Idaho, with more than half of them coming from opioids. 31 of the deaths weren’t linked to any specific drug, which Hahn said could be due to a coroner’s inability to run a toxicology report or pay an outside lab to process such a case. Hahn says another nuance to solving the problem is recognizing that opioids aren’t the only drug to focus on, noting that mental health problems and a wide variety of drug abuse are interconnected.
Members of the advisory group from the healthcare sector, corrections, and the judicial branch will meet several times over the next 18 months, and will submit their initial recommendations by the end of the year. (Boise State Public Radio News)
