ICYMI: Federal drug control czar joins local panel discussion

NEW PORT RICHEY — More Americans die from substance abuse than car accidents each year, U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis emphasized during the drug control panel discussion he convened last week.

"We have a broken system with too many individuals falling through the cracks, and not getting the help they need," Bilirakis, R-Palm Harbor, said. "This is true for our nation's heroes and for anyone suffering with substance abuse and mental illness."

In recent years government and public health officials have been expressing concerns about rising rates of addiction to opioid painkillers and opioid-related deaths in adults.

Bilirakis invited Michael Botticelli, director of the federal Office of National Drug Control Policy, to sit on the panel. Botticelli listened intently to testimony from judges, deputies, psychiatrists, veterans, recovered addicts and many more West Pasco residents.

"I can't think of any other more pressing public health or public safety issue we face," Botticelli said in introductory remarks.

In 2014 alone, about 2,600 Floridians died from overdoses, 45 of them in Pasco County, Botticelli said. President Barack Obama has proposed sending an additional $1.1 billion to states for treatment, he added.

Botticelli, a recovering alcoholic who has been sober for 28 years, appreciated the "balanced approach" Pasco leaders are pursuing.

"We know prevention works," he said, citing the Pasco County Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention as an example.

Among panelists, Pasco-Pinellas Circuit Court Judge Shawn Crane spoke about the drug court and veterans court, both treatment diversion programs he oversees.

"We can't arrest our way out of this," Crane said about drug abuse. The drug court might deal with 500 to 600 people at any given time. Some 135 recent graduates not only paid all fines and costs, they now hold down jobs and are becoming "productive citizens," the judge said.

Pasco used to rank first in the state as the "epicenter for prescription drug abuse and overdose deaths," Crane remarked. "I can't stress enough that it was a team approach" with county commissioners and the sheriff that began to help turn around the situation. The success of the drug court led to several federal grants for Pasco.

Sheriff Chris Nocco backed Crane's contention that the county can't arrest its way out of the problem.

Nocco cautioned that parents could be in trouble guiding their children if the adults aren't aware of "spice" and other synthetic drugs.

Pasco has many homeless women and children, Nocco said. Part of the problem, he said, is that addicted women usually aren't allowed in shelters because of regulations.

A panelist identified only as Molly P. testified how her painkiller addiction began after her first knee surgery operation at age 15. She believes she might have managed post-operation pain with over-the-counter medications, but doctors prescribed potent drugs such as Percocet.

"They toss them out like candy," Molly complained about health professionals prescribing powerful painkillers.

"I wanted my sobriety," Molly continued. After several false starts with clinics, she got help through Operation PAR.

In a prepared statement, Bilirakis noted a bill pending in the U.S. House would make naloxone more readily available. The drug, brand named Narcan, reverses the impact of opioids and can prevent overdose deaths.

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