Pubdate: Sat, 12 Jul 2014 Source: Peterborough Examiner, The (CN ON) Copyright: 2014 Peterborough Examiner Contact: http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/letters Website: http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2616 Page: A4 CURE FOR PAIN COULD WIND UP KILLING YOU It's a classic story from the war on drugs: Police forces team up, gather intelligence and strike fast and hard in the small hours, armouring up to batter down doors and arrest drug dealers in the chaos of noise and tear-gas smoke. This is a scene repeated almost daily across the continent, as police services carry out the seemingly never-ending battle against narcotics, and it happened here Wednesday. What set Project Blackrock apart, however, was not the tactics used but the drugs being seized. While some of the suspects arrested in Wednesday's sweep were charged with cocaine-related offences, much of the trafficking targeted by city police (with OPP and CKL teams joining in) involved drugs that, in a better world, would legally only be available by prescription to people who need them. Hydromorphone. Oxycodone. Percocet. Dilaudid. These are medically essential painkillers, opioids designed through rigourous trials to relieve pain. They're prescribed every day to people who need them, and stolen, bought and sold on the black market by people who don't. In the wake of Project Blackrock's arrests, city police brought in community partners, including the health unit and addictions experts, to try to raise public awareness of how serious an issue this is. According to a study published this week in the medical journal Addiction, Ontario deaths related to otherwise legal opioids doubled between 1991 and 2010, reaching 550 deaths a year - and those numbers are four years old. When we hear about drug raids, we picture hard street drugs and we think of rough-looking street criminals. And that's part of the overall picture. But opioid dealers serve a wider market, one with "clients" most of us would never think of as drug addicts. A key difference is the path that leads to this addiction. Many opioid addicts started off as patients; they were hurt, and needed something to ease their pain during recovery. They looked at their new pill as a cure, not a killer. That's when the powerful grip of addiction to these drugs takes hold. Awareness is key, and not just for the general public. It has to start with physicians, many of whom clearly prescribe these drugs without making their patients fully aware of the dangers. Most public health officials agree that this is an issue that must be explored. But it ultimately comes down to the patient. These drugs are meant to help, not to hurt. Overuse and misuse are no different from smoking or alcohol abuse - it's a medical issue that affects all of society, but it's up to each individual, whether doctor or patient, to be aware of that risk and use this medication correctly. So pay attention to that public health message - it may affect you one day. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt