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The Many Faces Of Addiction: No One Cause, No One Solution

Facing the addiction epidemic and unraveling its many causes and often devastating consequences has been the constant undertaking of many local organizations and groups. We know that our entire country is facing an unparalled public health crises which is straining community resources, causing tremendous heartache and demoralizing those working in the field. So far, try was we might, with many local organizations offering educational and advocacy programs as well as improved treatment programs, the end for us is not immediately in sight. Additional work still is needed.

In the spirit of “Our Community Stands Together,” the Health Care Action Team (HCAT) along with two major planning partners and sponsors, the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and the Mental Health Association (MHA), has planned a second community education forum on this complicated subject. Many sponsors have joined in the effort, to support and help in various ways.

Included are Jamestown Community College, the United Way, the city of Jamestown, the county of Chautauqua, Chautauqua Works, the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce, The Post-Journal, the YWCA, CASAC, A Fresh Start, HOPE Coalition, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, UPMC-Chautauqua-WCA, the Chautauqua County Department of Health and Human Services, the Chautauqua County Department of Mental Hygiene, The Resource Center, the Chautauqua Center, JAMA-GLPP, the Addiction Response Ministry, the Chautauqua Cattaraugus Library System, the United Christian Advocacy Network, and Burgett and Robbins, with others likely to be added.

The evening presentation will be held Wednesday, Nov. 15, at 6:30 p.m. in the Jamestown Community College’s Scharmann Theatre. The public is invited and is most welcome. There is no charge. Refreshments will be served by the numerous partner organizations.

Our speakers include Karen McElrath, PhD., Professor of Criminal Justice At Fayetteville State University, North Carolina; Davina Moss-King, PhD, Positive Direction and Associates; Andrew O’brien, current consultant and former director of behavioral health, UPMC-Chautauqua-WCA; Leanna Luka-Conley, deputy commissioner of adult, children and family services of the Chautauqua County Department of Health and Human Services; Chief Harry Snellings, Jamestown’s director of public safety and chief of police, and the Rev. Luke Fodor, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.

A question-and-answer panel will follow the presentations. The program will be moderated by Dr. Lillian V. Ney, chair of the Health Care Action Team and the Mental Health Association advisory board.

As a background review, there are many underlying causes of addiction and dependence, including but not limited to genetic predisposition, mental health issues, loneliness, social isolation, psychic trauma, sexual and physical trauma, post-traumatic stress syndrome, risk-taking, gateway drugs such as marijuana and alcohol and medical treatment with prescription drugs.

It is important to understand that addictive drugs stimulate the pleasure seeking neurological pathways of the brain, releasing dopamine, eventually lead to a craving that physically must be met. Sadly, brain circuits are altered over time and the changes cannot be reserved in short order.

There are definite anatomical and neurobiological changes with all addictions. These changes may take years to reverse, a huge challenge for everyone involved. In the last analysis and perhaps a surprise to some, addiction leads to a medical condition – an actual disease. It is not a moral failing, and this issue has been hard for some to understand, leading to a stigma that may hinder access to and progress in treatment.

Pain killers are in general highly addictive. Initially they were advertised as not only highly effective but non-addictive. At the same time, accrediting organizations for hospitals and physicians were encouraging physicians and nurses to be more attentive to the level of a patient’s pain, and to treat it more aggressively. Do you remember this — “How do you grade your pain “on a scale of 1-10?” And in fact, “demerits” were given for not adequately addressing a patient’s level of pain. In the end, a perfect storm ensued. When realization of the addiction epidemic reached the boiling point, medical practices were adjusted and prescription writing was curtailed, i.e. the NYS I-Stop Program. However, since substitute black-market pills were so expensive, those who had already become addicted turned to a cheaper and more easily obtained option, namely street-bought drugs. Today, additives to heroin such as fentanyl and carfentanyl have proven to be a deadly combination, and deaths due to overdoses are on the rise, reaching epidemic proportions.

Americans use more pain killers than the rest of the world. There are now strategies in place to limit the number of pills over a specific number of days for acute pain, with no refill. This doesn’t mean that a patient won’t be followed closely for further pain treatment as necessary, but it would prevent a prescription which has been common in the past, that is a prescription for 90 pain pills especially for a condition for which the patient may take none, one, or just a few, with many left in the medicine cabinet eventually coming to no good end, i.e. stealing by a family member (sometimes a young one), or stolen by a visitor.

Amidst this crisis, many organizations have joined hands to work together in a collaborative way, to learn together, to understand the dynamics of the epidemic and work towards a preventative and appropriate treatment approach. It is clear that crises of various forms bring people of many backgrounds together to help each other in a caring way.

We know that this is the current situation in our area and we are proud of and thankful to those who are helping. We hope you will join us on Wednesday, Nov. 15, as we explore a problem that weighs heavily on many people.

Dr. Lillian Vitanza Ney is chair of the Health Care Action Team, which operates under the umbrella of the Jamestown Strategic Planning and Partnerships Commission, and a member of the Mental Health Association’s advisory board.

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