Fentanyl Hits Hard — Especially Among Vets

(Winter 2017) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a grim report, announcing that drug overdose fatalities spiked over 17% between 2015 and 2016. Drug overdoses now rank as the number one killer of Americans below the age of 50. Looking at current trends, the CDC also revealed that rates of deadly overdoses are now higher in U.S. rural areas than in the nation’s metropolitan regions.

According to the CDC, illegally-made fentanyl, along with related drugs such as the even more powerful carfentanil, now play a large role in opioid-related overdose fatalities. The health organization studied circumstances of approximately 5,200 deadly opioid overdoses in 10 states during the last half of 2016 and concluded that fentanyl, and drugs similar to it, were to blame for over 50% of these mortalities. In a majority of the instances, these substances were added to heroin, many times without users being aware of the potentially lethal mix.

One group markedly affected by the opioid crisis is U.S. veterans. They run double the risk of perishing from an accidental opioid overdose than non-veterans. According to government information, soldiers of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq face the greatest chance of opioid addiction.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has provided opioid addiction treatment for 68,000 veterans during just the short span between March and November 2017. Attempting to explore new avenues for therapy, the VA is experimenting with alternative modalities such as yoga and acupuncture to relieve pain and help with opioid addiction recovery. Supporting this new approach, the Veterans Overmedication Prevention Act, introduced in Congress by Senator John McCain, would fund research to develop new protocols VA physicians could use instead of depending heavily on opioids to manage chronic pain. The measure, however, has not advanced on Capitol Hill.

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