On Monday, Sept. 14, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) was awarded a $35 million “State Opioid Response” grant by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which is part of the US Dept. of Health and Human Services.
The money will be used to continue the state’s fight against opioid abuse. It will allow for some much-needed treatment efforts that are part of “NC Opioid Action Plan 2.0.”
Previously, NCDHHS has received a total of $58 million in opioid response grants – which has allowed for over 14,000 North Carolinians to get help.
NC Governor Roy Cooper stated in a Monday press release announcing the new help that the drug problem in the state is being exacerbated.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly difficult for people who struggle with substance use disorders, and this funding will help us reduce overdoses in our state,” Cooper stated.
The drug treatment is considered especially needed during the pandemic since the shutdown has made it more difficult for people to get treatment for substance abuse and created extreme economic difficulties for people that often lead to drug abuse. In fact, there’s been a 21 percent increase in emergency department visits related to opioid overdoses compared to the same period last year.
This new $35 million is part of $1.5 billion from the federal government this year that will be awarded to states – as well as to Indian tribes – to fight the drug epidemic.
The money is expected to help about 3,300 new substance abusers as well as increase continuing care for those who’ve been receiving services under existing opioid response grants.
Some of the services the money will help fund include:
- Medication Assisted Treatment, which state health officials call “the gold standard in treatment for opioid use disorders.”
- Treatment for drug users in the Cherokee Indian communities in the state.
- Funding for treatment within the NC Department of Public Safety detention and reentry facilities.
- Prevention and recovery services across the state.
“This funding will provide life-saving treatment, recovery and prevention services for a portion of the estimated 114,000 North Carolinians that are uninsured and living with a substance use disorder – a number we know is growing in the midst of this pandemic,” said DHHS Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen.
ALL the billions being thrown at the war on opioids (drugs) is useless and contrary to the responsibilities of governmental agencies. Individuals are responsible for their own behavior. Medical insurance won’t pay for the necessary treatment for those sincerely wanting intervention which can take a year or more initially as well as years of follow-up sessions. Communities won’t financially support the quantity and quality of support services to treat the mental health services needed for those who have drug and alcohol addiction through taxes or donations. The Federal Government shouldn’t be involved in a national program of drug treatment. Their only involvement should be in the area of international and national illegal drug trafficking.
The concept of a national health crisis of opioid crisis is really one of a mental health crisis that has totally destroyed the legitimate use of opioids for people with chronic unrelenting pain and the well-educated doctors who give them excellent treatment with the judicious use of opioid medications. It’s been more than annoying to have been lumped into the category of an opioid user with those who are mentally ill as a chronic pain patient and have to worry about getting legitimate pain medications because of this war on opioids. I’m really curious as to the groups/persons that are benefitting from all the money being spent on these programs because pain patients, abusers, legitimate doctors/clinics aren’t.
This money could be better spent on expanding mental health insurance for those who want drug/alcohol/mental health addiction treatment as well as free clinics offering those services for the longterm treatment of a year or more (the standard 6 week – 3-month treatment program isn’t good enough for lasting success). Each state should be responsible through its Medicare/Medicaid/VA programs to set up its own treatment offerings. Regular insurance should be required to offer similar coverage for this type of service. The vast amount of money combatting the use of legitimate opioids should be spent in other areas to do research on alternatives to pain treatment so opioids don’t have to be used as often or at all to lessen chronic pain (massage, visualization, acupuncture, exercise, herbal treatment, CBD do not work effectively).
If there is to be effective change in the area of drug/alcohol addiction and mental health/suicide in this country the only real solution is to strengthen families and to strengthen our neighborhoods so young people feel they are supported again. That comes from a family, neighborhood, school, community group, and church that surrounds and supports them with lessons of structure, value, respect, integrity, education, love taught to them from birth to young adulthood. The 50s – 60s Cleavers/Father Knows Best may have been a corny image but fewer of us felt so unsure, depressed, hopeless, empty as it seems young people do today.
Agree with statement…
I’m just wondering where all this federal grant money is actually going because the area I live in there is really no help for people with chronic pain or opioid use disorder. People with chronic pain should not have to go to a pain clinic for help with their chronic pain & people with OUD can’t afford an average fee of $200 & up for doctor visits & then average around $200 & up for a prescription of Buprenorphine/Naloxone for just 1 month of treatment. Neither should have to pay $370 & up a month to treatment at a methadone clinic. In which are the only 2 options people with OUD have in my area of Salisbury, NC. It doesn’t matter if u got insurance, medicare or medicaid when the providers don’t accept any of them… Which brings me to all the federal funding that NC gets for the Opioid Crisis because in my area u can’t get help from the state for OUD. I’m sorry all this doesn’t quite add up when the government in itself makes it so hard to obtain help & treatment & proceed to make it even harder to obtain help & medications that are proven to work. So if you can manage that issue there is the issue of the cost for help & treatment in NC in which it cost less to stay an addict & buy opioids illegally off the street than to pay to get help & treatment the right & legal way. So to me just a regular citizen of NC & this beautiful country, with just my own thoughts, opinions & experiences it just doesn’t add up. Like when they say they want to put a stop to The Opioid Epidemic, that they want to help people with treatment & to completely recover from this. Whether it be due to pain, mental, or just plan out being a human & making a mistake. It just doesn’t add up to say they offer help & funding to help people but on the real they make it so hard & so expensive to get help & treatment that addicts end up staying on the streets cause it’s just so much easier, but mainly because it’s so much cheaper.