Hometown Weekly Staff
Governor Charlie Baker was in attendance at a standing room-only community forum held last Wednesday at the Walpole Public Library by the Walpole Republican Town Committee to highlight the growing problem of opioid abuse in Massachusetts.
Baker, joined by his wife, spoke at length about his own experience seeing the problem of opioid abuse and drug addiction. He noted how the issue of drug addiction became a major issue during his election campaign in 2014. While on the campaign trail, he was approached by person after person who shared stories of being addicted to a variety of drugs including heroin that all started with prescription painkillers.
“By the time we took office, this was something that I was going to make a big deal about,” Baker said. “We were going to make it a public conversation, because we were so clearly surprised by how much we didn’t know about this.”
Baker highlighted a bill that is currently making its way through the Massachusetts legislature, which is one of the core components of his battle against drug abuse in Massachusetts.
The bill would make a number of changes to existing laws, including allowing doctors to involuntary commit at-risk people suffering from substance use disorders for a 72-hour evaluation, give local police departments tools to help enroll people into treatment facilities, limit prescriptions of powerful painkillers to 72-hour increments, and more.
“[Chronic pain management] is a totally different ballgame and should be treated differently than someone who has just had their wisdom teeth out, sprained their ankle, or broke a finger,” Baker said.
The bill also makes extensive modifications to the existing Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP), and would require doctors and pharmacists to check the database before prescribing powerful painkillers to patients.
Baker noted several components of his bill are still in conference committees, and urged residents to contact their state representatives to help advance the bill in the legislature.
Walpole Police Chief John Carmichael also spoke at the community forum, and gave a presentation on how the addiction crisis impacts Walpole. He explained how over the years, policing has shifted away from simply arresting drug users and more towards both going after drug dealers and suppliers, and helping drug users into recovery.
“We can’t lock up everybody that is using drugs,” Carmichael said. “We’ve changed our approach, we don’t just focus on arresting people, we focus on drug treatment referrals. The criminal justice system is still the number one mechanism to get people into drug treatment in the United States.”
Carmichael explained that in 2015, Walpole saw a total of 24 opioid overdoses, and a total of 28 overdoses overall, up significantly from 2014 when the town saw 14 opioid overdoses and 21 total overdoses. Due to the department’s use of Narcan, a medication for the emergency treatment of opioid overdoses that is carried by first responders in Walpole, a majority of overdose victims survived.
The town has also seen what Carmichael called “ancillary crime:” robberies of convenience stores, banks and gas stations oftentimes fueled by a drug user’s need for a quick fix.
He also highlighted the work both the department and the community is doing to help reduce the stigma of drug addiction and ensure the youth of Walpole stay away from drugs, including engaging Walpole’s youth through the recently created Student-Police Advisory Council, keeping kids engaged through recreation programs, and educating parents and teenagers through programs offered by the Walpole Coalition for Drug and Alcohol Awareness.
Two medical professions also spoke at the community forum to discuss the medical side of the issue. Dr. Tim Hempton, a dentist in Walpole, gave an overview of the opioid issue from a physician’s point of view.
He noted that in the past, many doctors were taught that opioids were a safe way to manage pain.
“I can recall taking a course in 1981 where the pharmacology professor came out and he said the fact of the matter is, when people are in pain and they take these medications, they will not get addicted,” Hempton said. “That’s not true, but that’s what I was trained.”
Hempton explained that another factor driving an increase in prescription painkillers is changes in how the medical community views and deals with pain. In many hospitals, pain, despite being subjective, is now treated as a “fifth vital sign” alongside vital signs that can be measured empirically such as blood pressure and respiration.
He concluded his presentation by stressing that doctors need to educate patients and current and future healthcare providers about the real risks of opioids, including side effects and addiction, as well as improving the teaching of proper painkiller usage for both doctors and patients.
Julie Hempton, a PA in Walpole, gave an overview of the psychological effects of drug addiction.
Julie stressed the importance of community support in the healing process for addicts. She noted that the state needs more treatment programs, and needs to provide support for recovering addicts such as vocational training to keep them employed and less likely to relapse.
Robin Chapell gave the final presentation of the night, highlighting the work of the Walpole Coalition for Drug and Alcohol Awareness. The group began in the wake of a series of underage drinking incidents, and has since grown to spread awareness about both drug abuse and alcohol use. The organization holds workshops, contests, and helps those suffering from alcohol and drug problems.
