Steps forward in fight against opioids

The scourge of opioids continues to take a devastating toll on Connecticut and the nation, but there are signs of progress that must be celebrated and built upon. To reduce death and suffering, there are concrete steps the state and federal governments can take based on proven solutions. Getting there will not be easy, though.

First, though, it’s important to acknowledge positive signs.

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong received some pushback when the state held out against accepting a settlement offer from Purdue Pharma, the Stamford-based manufacturer of OxyContin that has been blamed in many quarters for the worst of the opioid crisis. But his strategy paid off last week when a deal was reached that would require members of the Sackler family, who are behind the company, to pay $5.5 billion to $6 billion in cash, which is more than $1 billion more than had been previously agreed upon.

The state will get roughly $95 million from the deal, which will go toward opioid treatment and prevention. In addition, the Sackler family agreed to offer an apology, which may not sound like much, but does offer some small measure of comfort for afflicted families. In return, the family would be protected from future lawsuits.

As for the Sackler family, some of its members for the first time recently faced people who had lost loved ones to opioids. As part of a hearing overseen by the judge in the company’s bankruptcy proceeding, family members poured out their grief and anger at the Sacklers in a session that for the first time put a human face on the object of their suffering.

It was a cathartic moment, but one that everyone involved with knows is only worth so much. To stem the tide of death and loss from the opioid epidemic, there is so much left to be done, and the money from the lawsuit settlement won’t cover everything. To get the help people need will instead require actions that go beyond what some observers might be comfortable with.

The issue is harm reduction, and it entails understanding the reality the addiction is a disease. People don’t choose to use harmful drugs, and efforts to get them to stop are not going to be successful with everyone. The focus in those cases, then, needs to be on ways to keep people alive while they continue to use drugs.

This, to many, sounds like a terrible idea. Only abstinence, in this view, should be targeted. But that ignores reality. Harm reduction must have a place in our menu of solutions, and government can help make it happen.

The state Legislature’s Public Health Committee is planning a public hearing on March 14 on a measure that would push state agencies toward an emphasis on harm reduction efforts and collect better data on the opioid crisis. It would also increase access for lifesaving treatments like methadone and increase availability of fentanyl test strips, which allow a user to know if they are about to ingest the deadly synthetic opioid.

These are important steps, maybe the Legislature’s best chance to act on opioids this session. There have been positive actions recently, but so much more needs to be done.

People don’t choose to use harmful drugs, and efforts to get them to stop are not going to be successful with everyone.