Experts gather to tackle abuse of prescription narcotics

EVERETT — A roomful of doctors, pharmacists, nurses and other health care providers were told Thursday that they have a huge part in battling the alarming increase in prescription pain medication abuse.

Nationwide more people are dying from prescription painkiller overdoses and more people are being rushed to emergency rooms for accidental poisoning from opiate drugs such as oxycodone, fentanyl and morphine.

Those deaths are happening in Snohomish County, too, a seminar for health care providers was told Thursday.

More young people are going to their parents’ medicine cabinets to get high. Prescription drugs have jumped to the fourth-most-abused controlled substances among Washington middle and high school students, behind alcohol, marijuana and tobacco, according to a recent state survey.

Police and prosecutors in Snohomish County have seen a rise both in pharmacy robberies and burglaries and in prescription frauds and forgeries. Other crimes, such as car thefts and identity theft, spike to help people pay for their addictions.

Meanwhile, health care professionals struggle to balance properly treating patients who live with chronic pain while recognizing the onslaught of those addicted to and abusing prescription pain medications.

Nearly 200 medical professionals gathered Thursday in Everett to discuss prescription opiate abuse as part of a forum sponsored by the Governor’s Council on Substance Abuse and the Snohomish County Medical Society.

Snohomish County prosecutor Janice Ellis, chairwoman of council, said the group has been focusing on prescription drug abuse as the emerging drug trend that’s facing communities.

“What makes prescription drug abuse unique is that many people, most people, initially access the drug lawfully,” she said.

That’s why it’s critical to bring health care providers into the conversation of combating the problem, Ellis said.

“When we work together it will help us identify where the problems are,” she said.

The spike in abuse has arisen out of policy change that came in the mid-1990s when it became legal for doctors to treat chronic, noncancer-related pain with opiates, said Dr. Gary Franklin, medical director for the state Department of Labor and Industries and a research professor at the University of Washington.

Before then, many people believed doctors didn’t care about patient pain, said Dr. Randy Moeller with Group Health Cooperative. Medical providers have been aggressively treating pain for about a decade.

“It’s opened Pandora’s box,” Moeller said.

People being treated for neck, back and abdominal pain are overdosing at alarming rates.

“These are not health conditions people should be dying from,” said Dr. Jeffrey Thompson, chief medical officer for the Health and Recovery Services Administration for Washington State Medicaid. “I think we need to take a deep breath and ask if this is the best we can do for our clients.”

Doctors recognized that they must balance properly treating legitimate chronic pain while remaining aware of the growing number of people abusing prescription drugs. That includes abusers who go from doctor to doctor, seeking prescriptions.

The state is looking to address that problem with a prescription monitoring program that will include a centralized database available to doctors, pharmacists and law enforcement to track potential abuse.

A group of pain specialists also is reconvening to discuss guidelines to doctors about prescribing pain medications to people with chronic pain who aren’t responding to increased dosage.

More education for medical providers is necessary, as are more affordable alternative treatments, Thursday’s presenters told the audience. There also need to be more prevention programs, as well as more treatment options for those who become addicted to pain medications.

Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Coleen St. Clair talked to the group about prosecuting drug crimes. She said prescription drug abuse is not just affecting the users but also the people who become the victims of crimes being committed to support the abuser’s drug habit.

St. Clair told the audience about a young man she recently prosecuted. He had suffered an injury while playing high school football a few years before. He was prescribed pain medication and became addicted. He began committing crimes to pay for his addiction and also began using heroin as a cheaper alternative to oxycontin.

The man was charged with numerous crimes and through cooperation with St. Clair and his defense attorney, was able to enter drug treatment as part of his criminal sentence. He was a star patient at the treatment facility and was granted a furlough shortly before he was expected to graduate the program.

The first day he was out, the young man overdosed on heroin, St. Clair said.

“I don’t know what the answer is. It starts small with the medical community, in schools,” St. Clair said. “The devastation it wreaks is on all of us.”

Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Customers enter and exit the Costco on Dec. 2, 2022, in Lake Stevens. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Costco stores could be impacted by looming truck driver strike threat

Truck drivers who deliver groceries and produce to Costco warehouses… Continue reading

Two Washington State ferries pass along the route between Mukilteo and Clinton as scuba divers swim near the shore Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ferry system increases ridership by a half million in 2024

Edmonds-Kingston route remains second-busiest route in the system.

Pharmacist Nisha Mathew prepares a Pfizer COVID booster shot for a patient at Bartell Drugs on Broadway on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett lawmakers back universal health care bill, introduced in Olympia

Proponents say providing health care for all is a “fundamental human right.” Opponents worry about the cost of implementing it.

Outside of the updated section of Lake Stevens High School on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020 in Lake Stevens, Wa. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lake Stevens, Arlington school measures on Feb. 11 ballot

A bond in Lake Stevens and a levy in Arlington would be used to build new schools.

Lake Stevens Sewer District wastewater treatment plant. (Lake Stevens Sewer District)
Lake Stevens sewer district trial delayed until April

The dispute began in 2021 and centers around when the city can take over the district.

Robin Cain with 50 of her marathon medals hanging on a display board she made with her father on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Running a marathon is hard. She ran one in every state.

Robin Cain, of Lake Stevens, is one of only a few thousand people to ever achieve the feat.

People line up to grab food at the Everett Recovery Cafe on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Coffee, meals and compassion are free at the Everett Recovery Cafe

The free, membership-based day center offers free coffee and meals and more importantly, camaraderie and recovery support.

Devani Padron, left, Daisy Ramos perform during dance class at Mari's Place Monday afternoon in Everett on July 13, 2016. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
Mari’s Place helps children build confidence and design a better future

The Everett-based nonprofit offers free and low-cost classes in art, music, theater and dance for children ages 5 to 14.

The Everett Wastewater Treatment Plant along the Snohomish River on Thursday, June 16, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett water, sewer rates could jump 43% by 2028

The rate hikes would pay for improvements to the city’s sewer infrastructure.

The bond funded new track and field at Northshore Middle School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 in Bothell, Washington. (Courtesy of Northshore School District)
Northshore School District bond improvements underway

The $425 million bond is funding new track and field complexes, playgrounds and phase one of two school replacements.

A salmon carcass lays across willow branches in Edgecomb Creek on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025 in Arlington, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Tribes: State fish passage projects knock down barriers for local efforts

Court-ordered projects have sparked collaboration for salmon habitat restoration

The Everett Municipal Building on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Everett council approves $111 million construction of sewer project

The Port Gardner Storage Facility, in the works for more than a decade, will help prevent overflows of the city sewer system.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.