Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #opioidcrisis

Most recents (24)

šŸ§µState & local govts are receiving $50B from companies accused of fueling the #opioidcrisis. But how much will they publicly report on its use? Will people in recovery, families & others know how itā€™s spent? My @khnews investigation with Christine Minhee. khn.org/news/article/oā€¦
2/ We scoured thousands of public documents and found only 12 states have promised detailed, public reporting of all their settlement money. That means in most places, itā€™ll be hard to track where this money goes. (Static pic, click link to see live map) khn.org/news/article/oā€¦
3/ Why does this matter? Opioid settlement funds come from lawsuits against companies like Johnson & Johnson, McKesson, CVS, etc for aggressively promoting/distributing painkillers that addicted or killed millions. Families say they deserve to know how this "blood money" is spent
Read 17 tweets
Supposedly, the #SiliconValleyBank #bailout wasn't a bailout: in a bailout, the *investors* get public money; but with #SVB, it was the depositors. But, of course, SVB's owners were also depositors in their bank. All in all, SVB's owners are entitled to $2B in public money. 1/ An old fashioned corner bank. Its sign has been replaced wit
If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

pluralistic.net/2023/03/18/2-bā€¦ 2/
When #Biden said, "investors in the banks will not be protected. They knowingly took a risk and when the risk didnā€™t pay off, investors lose their money. Thatā€™s how capitalism works," he was ignoring the fact that this isn't how *the law* works. 3/
Read 25 tweets
There's no friendly way to put this:

The new CDC Opioids Guidelines are a farce when it comes to saving patients' lives.

usatoday.com/story/opinion/ā€¦ #chronicpain #opioids #opioidcrisis #fentanyl #lawenforcement #drugs #politics #health #disability #disabled #cancer #addiction #pain
The CDC 2022 update is not meant to reform the guidelines

It's meant to absolve the CDC of guilt & wash its hands of an opioid prohibition & crisis it helped create

usatoday.com/story/opinion/ā€¦ @elizableu @yashar @chadfelixg @conor64 @lhfang @stillgray @joerogan @TaylorLorenz
Christopher Jones, acting director of CDCā€™s National Center for Injury Prevention & Control

Said the guideline is about "improving the lives of patients living with pain.ā€

Then why did the CDC push further & deeper restrictions against patients?
Read 13 tweets
so no one is going to like my take on this,
& I hope to share more officially with an article

But people are being a little misled here
washingtonpost.com/health/2022/07ā€¦ #chronicpain #opioids #westvirginia #drugs #opioidcrisis
reason we're seeing opioids lawsuits being overturned is not about the validity of what the companies have done but how they've been sought after by AG's & litigators

TDLR: Public Nuisance lawsuits are IMO garbage that works by intimidation & not merit

reason.com/2019/08/27/theā€¦
Public Nuisance lawsuits mean plaintiffs don't have to prove intent or specific ways that the defendants' actions led to damages

good scare tactics for an issue w/ lots of public feeling & can push judges & juries to do things they might otherwise not
Read 12 tweets
Thread: At 2pm eastern the White House @ONDCP will answer lawmakers' questions about a plan the @JoeBiden team says will cut drug overdose deaths by 13% by 2025. Goals are ambitious. Some Senators and drug policy experts are skeptical 1/ @npr
@ONDCP @JoeBiden @NPR I'll live tweet as much of today's Senate hearing as I can and I'll have a report on the White House drug control strategy later today on @npr and tomorrow on @MorningEdition. More soon 2/
Hearing now underway with @ChuckGrassley suggesting that White House "harm reduction" strategies could actually make dangerous drugs more widely available. Points to deep ideological differences between "drug war" and "harm reduction" approaches. 3/
Read 8 tweets
Record Numbers of Americans Dying of Overdoses. Instead of Justice, We Get TheateršŸ‘Øā€āš–ļø

"Whole thing is kabuki theater, It ought to be about money" said Ausness. "About who pays what & instead they want to make Sacklers listen to people complain about them"
newsweek.com/record-numbersā€¦
Guggenheim joined several other museums last week w/an announcement they are removing the Sackler nameplate from their arts center,

Once again victims are being offered busy work as though it were meaningful reform.
#opioids #medtwitter #sacklers #HarmReduction @praddenkeefe
We are in the midst of the opioid crisis, an addiction & overdose crisis fed by the ubiquity of illicit & deadly fentanyl in the black market,

over 108k people died from an opioid overdose in 2021,
npr.org/sections/healtā€¦ #opioids #addiction #news #twitter #CrimesAgainstHumanity
Read 27 tweets
1-Stop the, 'Over prescribing caused the opioid crisis.' narrative. I read article after article where 'liberal prescribing' is ascribed as the cause of the so called #opioidcrisis.
Many articles are written by people in our own community, self proclaimed pain pt ā€˜advocatesā€™.
2-To this, Iā€™d like to point out that in OC even a judge recently ruled:
"There is simply no evidence to show that the rise in prescriptions was not the result of the medically appropriate provision of pain medications to patients in need,"
#RxOpioidsSaveLives
#ChronicPain
3-Here is the link to that quote and ruling above: reuters.com/world/us/califā€¦
Read 15 tweets
SO WHAT if my pain is amplified by my psych, childhood trauma, or brain? Last time I checked my brain is part of my body, my abuse wasnā€™t my fault, and depression, anxiety is CAUSED by #ChronicPain not the other way around. If #opioids will stop me from using #MAiD, sUicIDe andā€¦
More physical and mental health problems and disability isnā€™t that the role of medicine and Medicine? Is there supposed to be a risk VS reward calculation in Medicine? We use c19 vaxx bc risk for severe side effects is tiny but the benefits are life saving. My risk of OD = <1%ā€¦
Risk that Iā€™ll be dead by years end by MAiD or my own hand? 90% Tbc it isnā€™t just adequate opioids that Iā€™m being denied. Health Canada opiate policy and propaganda has so biased drs and pushed them to deny clinical judgment and compassion that I canā€™t get any healthcare anymore.
Read 4 tweets
I lost another patient to overdose recently. I suppose thatā€™s not that surprising ā€“ about once a week I have a patient die from an opioid OD, these days ā€“ but this one hits harder than most. A šŸ§µ. #abpoli #ableg #opioidcrisis (1/24)
Weā€™d had discussions about which DLC for Witcher 3 was better (he said Blood and Wine, I liked Hearts of Stone) in between discussing how best to treat the giant monkey on his back. However, recently weā€™d lost touch ā€“ heā€™d stopped going in for his methadone, and sometimes (2/24)
that just means that someoneā€™s had a relapse, but sometimes it means that theyā€™ve overdosed and Iā€™ll find out later. Usually I get a call from the medical examiner or, in this case, when his partner told us a couple of months later thatā€™d heā€™d died in his dadā€™s basement.(3/24)
Read 25 tweets
This was the "Pain Patients Bill of Rights" in 1997.
Let me repeat that date.
1997.
MDs already had the right to REFUSE pain meds-
LE to go after illegal use.
The whole 'everyone getting opioids like candy' is & was BS.
#GetLawEnforcementOutofHealthcare
search-california-law.com/research/ca/HSā€¦
2-This is the business code info referenced in the above linked 'Patients Bill of Rights'-Cal. Health & Safety Code Ā§124960.
Yet today, few can get proper pain care in CA to literally save their lives.
#StopPainParole #GetLawEnforcementOutofHealthcare
leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_diā€¦.
3-Most #chronicpain pts are told to just 'follow the rules' and/or agree to go to 'pain management' clinics to get care, yet Pain Clinics are targeted by LE/DEA & shuttered.
Patients abandoned.
'No opioid Interventional Medicine' has become standard of tx.
visaliatimesdelta.com/story/news/202ā€¦
Read 5 tweets
We've lost too many in this insane '#opioid' war.
The sick & injured are spending the last years of their lives fighting, suffering, begging MDs & GOV for the medicines they need to mediate their pain.
They say taking our medicines away is to 'save' people.
No one is being saved.
Death due to #Untreatedpain or #Undertreatedpain is death by a thousand cuts.

#RxOpioidsSaveLives
#PainKills
Read 10 tweets
Whatā€™s the deal w/ people in #pain using #opioids? (Read entire thread.) We are not ā€œdrug addicts.ā€ We are physically DEPENDENT on our meds, which we need to function w/out pain (i.e, to function). Physical dependence occurs on heart meds & #antidepressants too. #ThisIsUs
And I am not trying to stigmatize #addiction here. But rly, letā€™s talk; chronic pain patients (#CPPs) have been forced to KILL themselves due to untreated pain, due to bad #policy, due to the #stigma, foolishness & financial incentives of others. This has a name: opiophobiaā€¦
If you took me off ALL opioids, I (like most #painpatients) would go through ugly opioid #withdrawals (and make sure to poop/puke on YOU for causing them)! šŸ˜‚

And even after months of ā€œabstaining,ā€ and withdrawals disappearing, I would be ā€œcleanā€ in the eyes of the world, butā€¦
Read 10 tweets
this is pretty bad, there is nothing said to make clear the deaths are overwhelmingly caused by illicit black-market street quality, FENTANYL

Never made or meant for medical use,
#opioids #news #opioidcrisis #medicine #healthcare #health
There's an argument the initial phase of the crisis, 1990s & early 2000s was sparked by prescription opioids,

There's no evidence then or now deaths themselves were caused by anything that ever came in an orange bottle
#healthcare #health #journalism #cnn ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/Pā€¦
So many things here being conflated here,

Dependence is not addiction
Addiction & overdose deaths are not the same things,

These deaths are mostly accidental including first-time casual users

addiction isn't always the cause of death
reason.com/2021/11/24/shoā€¦
Read 5 tweets
Speaking to the Economic Roundtable of San Francisco. @CatoHealth #CatoDrugWar

I'm only 10 minutes in but so far so good,
@dr4liberty is always great on the opioid & pain topics

cato.org/multimedia/medā€¦ #chronicpain #opioids #opioidcrisis #dopesick
one thing i notice watching his appearances is Dr Singer is always so concise,

always able to pack a ton of important information in just a few short minutes
The story at minute 5 about a patient's opioid phobia is pretty good btw,

if you want to jump in that's a good place imo
cato.org/multimedia/medā€¦
Read 4 tweets
Amazing @MikhailaAleksis Peterson had @slsatel & I talk about the opioid crisis, govs failed responsešŸ’Š

Mass patient abandonment via Opioid ProhibitionšŸ¤Æ
#chronicpain #opioidcrisis #Dopesick #DopesickHulu #crime #JordanPeterson #JoeRogan @jordanbpeterson
In this interview @MikhailaAleksis:
Why are patients being abandoned en mass?

How did the opioid crisis happen?
Why are all efforts by public health failing?
@joerogan @dr4liberty @GhanaboyPharmd @sullydish @bdomenech @wil_da_beast630 @brad_polumbo @LPNH
We had 100K overdose deaths in 2021,
despite opioid prescriptions being at historic lows

Millions suffering & dying needlessly
How F#$% did this happen?šŸ˜ 
@ConceptualJames @thehoffather @bernybelvedere @SonnyBunch @CathyYoung63 @chadfelixg @DrewHolden360
Read 23 tweets
Alberta's substance use surveillance data has been updated to include the month of August. Another 118 Albertans have died from an accidental drug poisoning, of those, 115 specifically from an opioid.

#abhealth #abpoli #ableg #yeg #yyc #opioidcrisis
This brings the total number of drug poisoning deaths in Alberta between January to August to 1,026. (937 of these are specifically from an opioid poisoning).

It also appears 1 death was added in Feb, 2 in June, and 7 in July.

#abhealth #abpoli #ableg #yeg #yyc #opioidcrisis
Edmonton continues to see the highest number of drug poisoning deaths, with 59 reported in August. In Calgary, there were 35 deaths.

#abhealth #abpoli #ableg #yeg #yyc #opioidcrisis
Read 5 tweets
Very CoolšŸ˜Ž
Presenting my 1rst article w/ @reason

Most Opioid Settlement Funds Aren't Going to Addiction Services

It doesn't work that way
reason.com/2021/09/21/mosā€¦ #opioids #health #healthcare #drugs #addiction #medicine #disability #opioidcrisis #chronicpain #MedTwitter #news
Americans take at face value the claim opioid settlements will provide justice for victims & necessary funding for addiction treatment

Despite what media & politicians may say,
that isnt how this works
reason.com/2021/09/21/mosā€¦ #HarmReduction @maiasz @filth_filler @ZachWritesStuff
A repeat of the largest settlement in US history,

the 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement in which 98% of the funds ended up in states general budgets

reason.com/2021/09/21/mosā€¦ @CathyYoung63 @GhanaboyPharmd @national_pain @bernybelvedere @brad_polumbo @conor64 @wil_da_beast630
Read 16 tweets
fyi Colorado,

opioid money isn't going towards addiction spending,
its going into the general budget
the-journal.com/articles/plansā€¦ #opioids #colorado #government #politics #sackler #purdue #opioidcrisis
"Under the framework, 60% of Coloradoā€™s settlement proceeds will be distributed to 19 regions of the state. Regional Governance Councils, made up of local leaders from each region, will make decisions about how to spend the money & provide reports"
there is nothing that says this money has to be spent on addiction services, NOTHING

That sweet sweet opioid litigation money is going to general budgets & pet projects,

If u are lucky, you might get a new Otter refuge
Read 11 tweets
@thomasjwwalters 1-'Rx opioids caused the OD crisis and #deathsofdespair'
In fact, my hypothesis is that it was a tragic coincidence that opioid prescribing increased to adequately treat those with pain/chronic pain right alongside a prolonged national catastrophe.
@thomasjwwalters 2- We KNOW that drug & alcohol use issues often go hand in hand with emotional, financial, and other types of 'trauma'. The collective trauma of a terrorist attack, war, financial corruption and collapse, ppl losing homes, jobs, retirement... A PERFECT STORM for ā¤“ļødrug use.
@thomasjwwalters 3- These factors touched ALL of America. Especially hard hit was (white) Middle Class America, already struggling, but then landed with the knock out blow of job loss due to Wall Street corruption, exportation of manufacturing jobs, people losing homes, savings, retirement etc...
Read 9 tweets
1-Let's be clear. If it weren't for the false narrative that RX opiates were driving OD deaths, no one would be supporting 'saving' people battling addiction.
#opioids
#SavingUsToDeath
#DrugWar
2-It was only after (white) Uppper & Middle Class Americans, (especially people of affluence), began losing loved ones and kids due to a deadly drug supply that the 'false narrative' about 'opioids' became mainstream.
cornellalumnimagazine.com/man-on-a-missiā€¦
3-Drug deaths & addiction, even to 'opioids', has been around a very long time. In fact, the drug war, like any other war, is a profitable enterprise.
Read 7 tweets
Ontario Canada: "The world's longest #lockdown will come to an end next week" (Step 3, July 16/21).

No. It's not over.

New chief medical officer of health, Dr Kieran Moore makes clear #endemic state will emerge in fall w/ Ont. "doing all the due diligence to prepare." Image
Let's explore numbers behind "world's longest #lockdown", Ont., Canada. Gov't of Ontario website updated July 11, 2021.

"Active cases" in Ont. as of July 11 2021 under 20 yrs of age: 0

Deaths under 20 w/ #COVID19 - 3.

Estimated pop. of Ontario: approx. 14.73 million people. Image
Under 20 yrs:

Jan 15 2020 to July 11 2021:

Resolved cases: 68, 280

Active cases: 0

Deaths (WITH #covid19): 3

[Keeping in mind that Covid tests are inaccurate (false positives) & largely meaningless as testing positive can mean mild to no symptoms whatsoever.] Image
Read 26 tweets
"Many embedded research studies are granted a waiver of consent from patients, with the requirement that personal health information be protected from disclosure."

This means embedded pragmatic clinical trials (ePCTs) via NIH don't need patient consent.

rethinkingclinicaltrials.org/chapters/disseā€¦
There are NIH ePCTs taking place in regard to pain and (conflating) addiction. There is also medication sparing programs for post-operative patients and for chronic pain through the HEAL initiative.

heal.nih.gov
The Pragmatic and Implementation Studies for the Management of Pain to Reduce Opioid Prescribing (PRISM) is the main ePCT taking place via the HEAL initiative. Meaning, patients are studied within the delivery model (EHR) and consent requirements likely waived via data protection
Read 14 tweets
@Shasta_Rayne 1/Bottom line-we KNOW that the '#opioidcrisis' wasn't caused by MDs treating pain. We KNOW that it's primarily younger, often males, ODing on street drugs while #CPPs aren't ODing & are often older. We KNOW the PDMP is a drag net & DEA/LE involvement is why MDs are afraid to RX.
@Shasta_Rayne 2/We KNOW state Standards of Care were drafted around CDC 'guideline' with DEA scrutiny as their backdrop for policy making. We listened in as they changed pain tx standards with that in mind.
"How much & for how long can I rx my post surgical pt without DEA coming down on me."
@Shasta_Rayne 3/We KNOW HHS & the NPS has created a tragic mess for pain patients even though this OD issue was NEVER REALLY ABOUT PRESCRIBING; and we know why.
Money.
At some point, even if it was initially believed to be a public safety issue, it became a money issue when the truth came out.
Read 4 tweets

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