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http://http//katv.com/news/local/state-drug-director-on-opioid-crisis-what-we-have-been-doing-is-not-working

By Talk Business & Politics

LITTLE ROCK, ARK. (Talk Business & Politics)- State Drug Director Kirk Lane says the state and nation aren’t doing enough to combat the nation’s opioid epidemic, while the U.S. House of Representatives is passing a flurry of bills to combat the problem.

“The biggest thing that Arkansas needs to do is be adaptable to change. What we have been doing for a long time is not working,” Lane said during an opioid summit at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock on Monday (June 18).

The summit was organized by the office of U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Little Rock, and featured two panel discussions. One of those included Lane; Hill; Commander Karen Hearod, regional administrator for the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA); and Jim Tom Bell, a member of the board of directors of the Quapaw House addiction treatment facility. Arkansas Surgeon General Dr. Greg Bledsoe moderated the discussions.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, deaths nationwide from drug overdoses increased from 16,849 in 1999, when half were opioid related, to 63,632 in 2016, when two-thirds were. The 63,632 divided by 365 equals more than 174 deaths per day.

“If we loaded up an airplane with 175 people and crashed it every day, how long would it take until we shut down the airline?” Lane asked.

Lane said Arkansas had the second highest opioid prescription rate in the country with 114.6 prescriptions for every 100 people in 2016. That number has been above 100 since 2007. Eight of 10 heroin users started by using prescription medication. And yet the state has not yet adopted Centers for Disease Control and Prevention opioid prescription guidelines that were released in 2016.

For more on this story click here from KATV content partner Talk Business & Politics.