Pence Applauds Drop in Overdose Deaths

In 2018, drug overdose deaths fell by nearly 5% across the country, Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday.

Speaking at Eastern Kentucky University in Manchester, Pence said the drop in overdose deaths was the first the country had seen in nearly 30 years.

The vice president also noted that overdose deaths in Kentucky have fallen “nearly 15%” in a year and that the reduction in deaths was the first the state had seen in 5 years.

“Well done, Kentucky,” he said to audience applause.

“That means more than 200 lives are being saved here in the Bluegrass State,” he said. Pence also gave credit to Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R) for the reduction in overdose deaths.

Bevin increased funding for the opioid crisis at the state level by $79 million, made naloxone — the opioid overdose reversal drug — available across the state, limited the number of days opioids can be prescribed for, and expanded treatment for addiction for incarcerated individuals.

A mid-July report from the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy found that 1,333 people died from drug overdoses in the state in 2018, a significant dip from the 1,566 in 2017, according to the Associated Press.

Pence also noted that since President Trump took office, opioid prescription rates have declined by 34%.

Nevertheless, he noted that nearly 200 Americans still die each day from drug overdoses.

Pence credited the Trump administration for the progress on curbing the epidemic, noting that it had directed more than $350 million in grants to states “grappling with addiction,” including $87 million to the University of Kentucky — the largest research grant the university has ever received, he noted.

Pence also announced that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) would be providing an additional $400 million in grants to “fight the drug crisis nationwide,” including $10 million for Kentucky, he said.

“We are with you, Kentucky,” he said.

Grants of more than $160,000 will be spent on facilities in the cities of Whitesburg, Hazard, Prestonsburg, and Sadieville.

Each of the grants will be used to hire counselors, social workers, nurses, and licensed mental health providers, Pence said, and one grant will be directed to a faith-based facility in Knox County.

The administration will also provide $750,000 in grants to the University of Pikeville to help train social workers and “place them where they can have the biggest impact,” Pence said.

He boasted that HHS has invested “hundreds of millions” of dollars in community health centers, treatment centers, and other partners targeting research, prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts across the country.

While he noted at one point in his speech that “we cannot arrest our way out of this problem,” Pence also touted a 40% increase in federal opioid prosecutions since Trump took office.

In 2018, the Department of Homeland Security “seized enough fentanyl to kill every man, woman, and child in America, three times over,” Pence said.

He also stressed the importance of border security and said that people crossing at the border, predominantly families, “create an opportunity for drug cartels.”

https://www.medpagetoday.com/psychiatry/opioids/81521