Opioids or painkillers have flooded the small town of Williamson, West Virginia allegedly causing the death of many people. According to sources, the said incident has claimed the lives of more people due to overdose than in any other country in the world.
It was revealed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee that there were around 20.8 million oxycodone and hydrocodone pills having been delivered to this town. Williamson only has a total of 3,200 residents or so, based on the most recent Census figures.
As a result, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has announced that pharmacies and prescribers should be under a nationwide crackdown. This was made after it was found out that they were oversupplying the said medicines in the middle of a deadly epidemic sweeping the U.S. In fact, it was never reported by drug companies and pharmacies that narcotics have been flooding small towns.
Over a decade, a couple of pharmacies in Williamson have received a huge number of prescription painkillers, based on the congressional investigation. The investigation has found out that these drugs came from out-of-state pharmaceuticals. From 2006 to 2016, 2 wholesalers of such drugs have delivered a total of 10.6 million oxycodone pills and 10.2 million hydrocodone pills to Hurley Drug and Tug Valley Pharmacy in the town of Williamson.
Drug wholesalers H.D. Smith and Miami-Luken were questioned by the investigating panel on opioid epidemic in the United States. They were interrogated why they weren’t able to determine why there was an increase in the shipments. This was expressed by the panel via a number of letters to communicate with them.
In this regard, U.S. President Donald Trump has given the companies until February 9 to be able to respond to questions and to give documents that are relevant to whatever measures are done to end the flooding of pain pills in the state.
According to lawmakers, they will continue investigating the shipments of huge quantities made by the said distributors. Moreover, they are looking forward to determine why there was a shocking lack of oversight, particularly in the practices of distribution.
A total of 880 people already died in 2016 in West Virginia alone as a result of drug overdose. This would sum up to 10 per 100,000 people on a nationwide scale, while about 35 deaths were accounted for every 100,000 people in the area.
Addiction to opioids or pain pills leads to death, but those who survived might be subject to rehabilitation to treat the condition. If a person gets overdosed to opioid drug such as morphine or heroin, it requires immediate emergency attention.
Treatment for opioid addiction is possible via buprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexone, which are considered essential medicines, according to the WHO (World Health Organization). The use of naltrexone, however, would require full detoxification, which is difficult to perform among active users.
Behavioral counseling should be applied together with medication in order to achieve a whole patient approach. This is known as the Medication Assisted Treatment. The National Institute on Drug Abuse has released research findings on the effective treatment for drug abuse and addiction. Victims can get medical treatment by calling the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration through their helpline numbers or via their website www.samhsa.gov.