美国国家公共电台 NPR Some States Say Declaring An Emergency Has Helped In The Opioid Fight

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

President Trump 1 is turning his attention to the nation's opioid crisis. He spoke 2 yesterday laying out plans to step up law enforcement.

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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Federal drug prosecutions 3 have gone down in recent years. We're going to be bringing them up and bringing them up graphically 4.

CORNISH: Meanwhile, a White House commission studying the opioid epidemic 5 recommends a different approach, framing the issue as a public health crisis focused on prevention and treatment. We wanted to know what this all means for states navigating 6 the issue, so we reached out to Dr. Cara Christ. She's the director of Arizona's Department of Health Services. Her state had almost 800 opioid-related deaths last year, prompting the governor to declare a state of emergency. I asked Dr. Christ how she and her department are approaching the situation.

CARA CHRIST: I think what the health care community and public health community is trying to do, especially in Arizona, is to reverse the stigma 7 associated with drug addiction 8. This is a chronic 9 health condition. Opioid use disorder 10 is just like any other chronic disease - like diabetes 11, like hypertension - and needs to be treated in the same manner.

There is treatment available. There are providers that are experts in treating this disease. And we don't want people to feel afraid of going and seeking help and calling in the middle of an emergency. You wouldn't hesitate in calling when someone has a heart attack. You should call when somebody has a drug overdose and help that friend or loved one get into treatment.

CORNISH: I know public health officials for a long time have talked about trying to reduce the stigma around opioid abuse in order for people to be more comfortable to come forward to get treatment. But do you think that's happening? Is that the direction you see the national conversation going?

CHRIST: So we did a survey, and 4 out of 10 people surveyed actually had a loved one or a friend that was addicted 12 to painkillers 13 or opioids. And we know that our communities are so interconnected now that even if you don't have a personal relationship, you're going to be impacted at your workplace, on your roadways, at your children's school. And I think as people are starting to see how prevalent this is, I think we are starting to change the stigma associated with this epidemic.

CORNISH: I grew up with the Say No To Drugs campaign (laughter) and with law enforcement and law and order being an important component 14 to fighting the crack and cocaine 15 epidemic. Are we seeing the same thing happen here, where there's being - where there's going to be renewed emphasis on the law enforcement part of dealing 16 with the drug epidemic?

CHRIST: I think law enforcement plays a part when you're dealing with the illegal supply of drugs. I think what's so challenging about the opioid epidemic in the United States is that most people never intended to try what they consider to be an illicit 17 drug. These were drugs that were started as being prescribed by their physician to treat pain or a medical condition or after surgery. And we know that 4 out of 5 new heroin 18 users started as prescription 19 drug users. So we really need to work with our health care providers to prevent people from becoming dependent and addicted on these medications.

CORNISH: What's your response to people who say, I've been hearing about this as a crisis for a couple years now? And people keep saying, we need more treatment. We need more help. But there are people out there who are listening who think maybe we just need to step in, to be more aggressive about prosecutions and cracking down.

CHRIST: You know, I think that this has been a longtime crisis that has been building over decades. And so I think it's going to take us a while to work our way back out of this issue. And I do believe that on all fronts we need to be more aggressive to address it, really stepping up our public health efforts, getting our prescribers and our providers to assist with this epidemic, to become waivered physicians, to provide treatment, and to really increase access for our patients to receive the care they need.

CORNISH: So be patient is your answer.

CHRIST: This isn't going to be an issue that's going to be solved overnight. It's going to take time. So yes, while we are being as aggressive as we can, it is going to require patience.

CORNISH: That's Dr. Cara Christ, director of Arizona's Department of Health Services. Thank you for speaking with ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.

CHRIST: Absolutely. Thank you.