Opioid panel discusses wide range of topics during Community Conversation
While discussing issues of drug addiction, state Rep. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, said it’s an unfortunate comparison, but dealing with drugs is “almost like Whack-a-Mole. You bat one down and another pops up.”
It’s an issue he’s familiar with through his work in Tallahassee trying to keep laws up to date with what drugs are on the streets. Boyd is currently sponsoring a bill that would address heroin, fentanyl and punishment for possessing certain amounts of the drugs.
Wednesday night, Boyd was just one member of a panel brought together at State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota to discuss a wide range of topics relating to heroin and opioids in Manatee County as part of a Community Conversation event. He was joined by Dr. Jessica Spencer, a Florida-certified prevention and addictions professional, and John Bowman, founder of Sure Med Compliance, a company created to help end the drug overdose epidemic.
Together, the panel, moderated by Chris Wille, editorial page editor for the Bradenton Herald, and Brian Thomas, special assistant to the president at State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota, discussed topics that included the overdose reversal drug naloxone, addiction, treatment, prevention techniques, education and children.
When the focus turned to families during the discussion of prevention, panelists said families and schools should work to educate children at a younger age and teach a deeper lesson than just saying “no” to drugs.
“Kids don’t want to be told what to do, they want to know why,” Spencer said. Though she didn’t name one specific prevention education program she favors, Spencer said she does like “anything with teaching kids healthy ways to do things.”
Spencer noted several times throughout the night that what she believes will solve the issues of the opioid epidemic is the community coming together to increase education and further knowledge on the issue. If that means helping other families or asking tough questions, then so be it. She said everything — prevention, education, treatment and others — need to be discussed by everyone to make a change possible.
“My heart is in prevention,” Spencer said. “It starts very young.”
Bowman, who has a background in pharmaceuticals, spoke of his hopes to see red-flags for people who may be more likely to develop addictions identified at doctor’s offices, especially at an early age. The goal, he noted, would be to avoid prescribing highly addictive opioids to people who may have a higher chance of becoming addicted. He also wants to see addiction treated as a disease.
“Something is different about this, why are we treating it the same,” Bowman asked.
Boyd went on to discuss the issue of funding of programs to address the opoioid issues, that there is only so much money that can go toward them and several programs are competing for the same dollars. Boyd wants to look at how to fund programs but also, who can do what jobs best to help in deciding who to provide funding to, and could collaborations help.
One thing all panelists agree on: Drugs are a problem that will never disappear altogether. Getting rid of drugs entirely is never going to happen, Spencer said, it all goes back to how to reduce them.
Megan Grable, 16, and her brother, Joseph Grable, 14, attended the event with their mother, Melissa.
Megan, who had a notebook with her, said she was there as part of her research for a school speech project.
Megan, Joseph and Melissa agreed the speakers were informative, and the event was overall an educational experience for the family.
“What’s being provided to kids at the younger age to help them abstain?” Melissa asked, pointing to pay-to-play sports and other after-school activities.
Megan left wanting an action plan for what to do, but what she learned was that she could take action herself by speaking out and informing and educating others.
Alan and Beth Waters were born and raised in Manatee County. Born in Manatee County hospitals and high school sweethearts at Manatee High School, they came to Wednesday’s event for information, and said they got it.
Beth, who volunteers at Solve Maternity Homes, was once prescribed a medication that she said she could have been addicted to had she not done research before taking the recommended dosage.
Panelists discussed the stress they said doctors are under to treat pain but also not prescribe opioids.
“People need to get educated,” Beth said. “Tonight reinforced that for me.”
While addressing addiction, panelist John Bowman observed: “Addiction is real and it’s a disease. ... We’re treating it almost like it’s a lack of morality.”
That comment, along with Spencer’s comment on teaching children coping skills — like drinking water when they get a headache rather than taking a pill — struck home for Beth and Alan. These were things, they said, they’ve never heard before.
Bowman went on to discuss how drug abusers have told him they hate living in addiction.
But not everyone was satisfied with what they heard on the stage. Julia Negron of Suncoast Harm Reduction Project eagerly addressed the panel during a time when questions were taken from the audience as the tension in the room grew. Negron addressed a comment made earlier in the panel about methadone clinics as treatment, saying talk about methadone clinics not being a solution is “tragic,” saying such programs have seen success.
Members of the group have family and friends who have died from overdoses, Negron said, and they wish to be included in more discussions.
“We come from a different point of view,” Negron said.
This story was originally published March 1, 2017 at 10:14 PM with the headline "Opioid panel discusses wide range of topics during Community Conversation."