A new federal grant will help spread awareness about prescription opioid abuse across Iowa. The grant will fund a statewide media campaign to educate teens and young adults about the dangers of misusing prescription drugs. Janet Nelson, at the Iowa Department of Public Health, says young people often think that if a drug is prescribed by a doctor, it can’t be harmful.  “There are a lot of gaps still to fill,” Nelson says, “and that’s what we’re doing with this prevention grant is to continue to spread the word.”

The grant will also help three counties — Polk, Jasper and Scott — to develop additional strategies to reduce problems stemming from prescription opioid abuse. Nelson says those counties were chosen based on rates of opioid-related deaths, treatment admissions, and youth survey results on misuse of prescription drugs. “We’re targeting community members and hospitals and health care providers — especially prescribers — to help reduce the amount of opioids that are getting prescribed, so it’s a community effort.”

The public health department will work with pharmacists and care providers to stop young people from receiving more pain pills than they need.

(Radio Iowa, w/Thanks to Katarina Sostaric, Iowa Public Radio)

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports 18-year old Colby John Nicholas Rasmussen, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 7-p.m. Thursday. Rasmussen was taken into custody for Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana – 3rd offense, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. He was booked into the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $2,000 cash bond.

Republican Governor Kim Reynolds says legislators should “explore” passing a law that would shield drug users from prosecution if they seek help for someone who’s overdosing. Three dozen states have enacted some form of a so-called “Good Samaritan” law. “This law immunizes other drug users from criminal prosecution if they call 911 when an overdose is occurring,” Reynolds says.

Reynolds hosted a forum on the opioid crisis, Thursday. She says she wants to see more doctors use the state’s prescription drug monitoring program, but she’s not yet calling for a law that would REQUIRE participation.  “We’ll work with the Iowa Board of Pharmacy and stakeholders to help improve participation in the program and identity ways to automatically notify prescribers and pharmacies when patients are exceeding reasonable doses,” Reynolds says.

Just 43 percent of the Iowans authorized to write prescriptions for opioids and other medications use the program today. The nine-year-old state system that monitors prescriptions and sends alerts about potential abuses is getting an upgrade in the next few months. “Modernizing the way that we use technology is critical to combatting this deadly epidemic,” Reynolds says.

Reynolds says state officials will encourage doctors to follow prescribing guidelines for opioid pain medications, but the governor opposes a new law that would limit how many pills doctors can prescribe at one time. “Especially when you’re looking at a long-term diagnosis, cancer treatment, rural Iowa access issues,” Reynolds says.

The governor expects use of the statewide prescription monitoring system will grow after the technology is upgraded. Reynolds has declared this Opioid Awareness Week.

Reynolds has talked publicly about her own battle with an addiction to alcohol. Her 2018 reelection campaign has released a video in which the governor credits her family for supporting her as she chose sobriety.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowa’s attorney general for the past year has been working with the attorney general of Illinois to investigate Purdue Pharma — the company that has marketed OxyContin. OxyContin is one of the pain medications at the center of the country’s opioid epidemic. Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller says attorneys general from all 50 states are involved, in one way or another, in pursuing legal action against responsible parties in the pharmaceutical industry. “There’s been a series of meetings recently with the industry in Chicago,” Miller says.

Federal prosecutors announced a criminal investigation of the Purdue Pharma company this week. Ten states have already filed lawsuits against drug makers. On Thursday, Miller — who is a Democrat — joined Iowa’s Republican governor at a forum to examine the extent of the opioid epidemic in Iowa and what state policies could be changed to address it. “I’m a lawyer. I love math and statistics and complicated situations and solutions, but here it’s just so simple,” Miller says, “for me, anyway.”

Miller says opioids should be the pain remedy of “last resort.” He blasts pharmaceutical companies for downplaying the “addictive nature” of opioids. “We should only use opioids in very limited circumstances where nothing else works,” Miller says. “We should use them with a lot of caution and respect and concern about addiction.”

The latest federal statistics indicate 190 Americans die each DAY from an opioid overdose. “A friend of mine recently…broke some ribs, which is a painful injury…and she took herself off opioids after 20 days,” Miller says. “Her doctor wanted to give her a prescription for 30 days. I think there is growing evidence that in the 14-21 days of use of opioids, in a regular prescription, is a real danger point for many people in addiction. But 30 days! What planet has that doctor been living in?”

Dozens of lawsuits have been filed against drug makers and marketers, accusing companies of downplaying the risks of addiction to and overdoses from pain medications. In 2007, Purdue Pharma and three of its executives pleaded guilty to misbranding OxyContin and paid 630-million in penalties. Earlier this week, a spokesman for the company said Purdue Pharma is “commuted to being part of the solution to our nation’s opioid crisis.”

(Radio Iowa)