By Katelyn Gravelle Weaver / For The Herald

Without immediate action, the opioid crisis will become a permanent fixture in our society.

Instead of winding down, the opioid epidemic tightened its grip and picked up speed. Open and easy access to this terrifyingly addictive drug makes opioids practically commonplace in American medicine cabinets, pockets and purses. When a drug is both easy to access and easy to become physically addicted to, the outcome is tragic.

In Washington state alone, the human cost has been catastrophic; state health data reveals that more than 17,000 lives were lost to drug overdoses in recent years, with opioids playing a role in two-thirds of these deaths. The situation has grown dire: fatal opioid overdoses in our state have doubled since 2019, claiming over 1,600 lives in 2021 alone.

The path that led to this crisis is clear. Between 1999 and 2014, the number of opioids prescribed and sold in the United States nearly quadrupled, despite no corresponding increase in Americans’ reported pain levels. This widespread and unnecessary exposure to prescription opioids led to increasing rates of opioid abuse.

Opioid abuse leads to — or, rather, goes hand in hand with — opiate dependence. That is, the person’s primary goal is no longer to “get high,” but to avoid the negative symptoms their body experiences without the drug, such as vomiting, chills, shaking and an unstoppable sensation their skin is crawling or itching. To relieve the physical pain, those with opioid dependence frequently turn to illegal drugs to manage withdrawals.

Unsurprisingly then, we saw a surge in the use of other opiate drugs, such as heroin and fentany, both drugs that would provide temporary relief to withdrawal symptoms. More often than not, this path leads to overdosing and/or death. This is evident looking at the national toll which documents opioids as claiming more than 300,000 American lives over the past 15 years. That amounts to an average of 55 people every single day.

As a criminal defense attorney in Western Washington, I see practically on a daily basis the devastation caused by opiate addiction and how far it reaches. From Vancouver to Bellingham, the ripple effects are devastating. It’s worth noting that opioid addiction does not discriminate based on age, location, wealth or education. If you have a human body, you’re at risk.

The pattern often begins innocently; a car accident or necessary surgery leads to a well-intentioned pain medication prescription. What starts as legitimate pain relief can quickly spiral into dependency, addiction, and criminal behavior. When a person experiences unbearable pain, pain for which there is a known path to relief (e.g. heroin or fentanyl), it is unsurprising and understandable that the person would go to great lengths to obtain relief.

I cannot count how many of my clients acted out of desperation in an effort to relieve their pain and did something they never would have done otherwise. People have stolen priceless heirlooms from family, robbed banks, or burglarized gas stations.

If we let this go any longer, eradicating opioid dependence will start to feel unachievable. Once our children grow up seeing multiple generations battling addiction, the momentum to stop the status quo resembles something more like someone fighting against the grain, instead of taking a small detour on the way back to “normal.”

To prevent more lives from being derailed by opioids, we need to make alternative pain treatments readily available. The Alternatives to Prevent Addiction In the Nation (PAIN) Act, introduced in Congress last year, offers a practical approach for seniors dealing with serious pain. This bipartisan bill aims to ensure that opioids aren’t automatically the first choice for pain management.

The legislation tackles the problem from two angles. It eliminates the financial barriers that make opioids cheaper than alternative treatments. This means that patients aren’t forced to choose riskier medications (opioids) to save money. Just as importantly, the legislation removes prior authorization requirements and mandatory step therapy for alternative treatments, which cuts through red tape and allows faster access to safer pain management options.

This legislation isn’t just about health care reform; it’s about preventing addiction before it starts and reducing the burden on our criminal justice system and on our communities. By expanding access to opioid alternatives, we can protect vulnerable seniors while addressing one of the root causes of addiction in our communities.

There is also an opportunity for Gov. Bob Ferguson to tackle this at the state level. With an executive action to make these medications be covered by Medicaid, he could help thousands of Washingtonians avoid addiction.

The Alternatives to PAIN Act offers practical solutions to an urgent crisis. Of the few solutions we’ve tried so far, none is working. I call on Washington’s congressional delegation and Gov. Ferguson to help make these policies the law of the land. Our community’s well-being hangs in the balance, and we have everything to lose.

Katelyn Gravelle Weaver is the founding partner at KGW Law, a boutique defense firm based in Seattle. Weaver has been a defense attorney and public defender since 2012.