Pubdate: Sun, 29 Mar 2015
Source: Foster's Daily Democrat (Dover, NH)
Copyright: 2015 Geo. J. Foster Co.
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/mYsCsdPU
Website: http://www.fosters.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/160
Author: Linda Saunders Paquette
Note: Linda Saunders Paquette is the executive director of New 
Futures, a nonprofit advocacy organization working to prevent and 
reduce alcohol and other drug problems in New Hampshire.

SUPPLY AND DEMAND IS DRIVING N.H.'S ILLEGAL DRUG EPIDEMIC

Supply and demand is one of the most fundamental concepts of 
economics and it is the backbone of a market economy. Demand refers 
to how much (quantity) of a product or service is desired by buyers. 
Supply represents how much the market can offer. This basic economic 
concept is in full play in NH's current illegal drug epidemic. As 
long as the demand for illegal drugs such as heroin is high, the 
supply will continue to flow into our state.

On March 18, 2015, law enforcement officials made the largest seizure 
of heroin in NH's history. A drug trafficking organization had been 
operating in the Keene area for about five years, and distributed 
nearly a kilo of heroin every 10 days on the street, according to 
U.S. Attorney John Kacavas. Keene isn't the only area in NH dealing 
with the heroin crises. Every city and town in NH is feeling the 
impact of the drug misuse epidemic. The supply of illegal drugs 
flowing into NH is driven by the high rates of addiction in our state.

In 2014, 300 people died from drug overdoses in New Hampshire. That 
number is up from 193 people in 2013, and 164 people in 2012. 
According to the New Hampshire Medical Examiner's Office, the 2014 
number may go up even more once all of the 2014 deaths in NH have 
been reviewed. On top of this alarming increase, consider that the 
overdose reversal drug Narcan was administered 3,275 times in 2014, 
and you have a sense of the scope of the crisis. The demand for 
heroin and other illegal drugs is through the roof in New Hampshire.

Drug overdoses are just one indicator of the substance misuse 
epidemic we are facing in NH. We know that approximately 100,000 NH 
citizens are in need of treatment for substance use disorders. We 
know that the rates of substance misuse by NH youth and young adults 
are some of the highest in the country. We know that substance misuse 
costs businesses more than $1 billion per year in lost worker 
productivity. Alcohol misuse alone resulted in 9,237 fewer male 
workers in NH's labor force in 2012, an overall reduction in the 
state's labor force of 1.2%. We know that substance misuse places an 
enormous strain on our health care, public safety, and criminal 
justice systems. According to Manchester Police Chief David Mara, 
there is one clear reason for the rise in Manchester's violent 
crimes: drugs. We also know that when it comes to access to treatment 
for substance use disorders, NH ranks second to last in the country - 
only in Texas is a person in need of treatment for substance ! misuse 
less likely to receive it than in New Hampshire.

There is one clear path to addressing the drug misuse crisis in NH: 
reduce the demand for drugs. Reducing the demand for drugs means that 
our state must invest in addiction prevention, treatment, and 
recovery supports. This week, the Republican members of House Finance 
Committee, Division III (the subcommittee responsible for the NH 
Department of Health and Human Services' budget) voted to end the NH 
Health Protection Program, eliminate funding for a substance use 
benefit for the standard Medicaid population, and eliminate increased 
funding for substance use services through the Governor's Commission 
on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention, Treatment and Recovery.

We implore our legislators to support the provisions of the proposed 
state budget that provide funding for substance use disorder 
prevention, treatment and recovery supports. Those provisions 
include: reauthorization of the NH Health Protection Program, which 
provides a benefit for people with substance use disorders; providing 
a substance use disorder benefit for the traditional Medicaid 
population, which will provide substance use services to NH's youth 
and people with co-occurring mental illness and substance use 
disorders; and increased funding for prevention, treatment and 
recovery supports through the Governor's Commission on Alcohol and 
Drug abuse prevention, Treatment and Recovery. The citizens of NH 
have had enough.

Drug overdose death is not a partisan issue. It's past time for NH's 
legislators to put politics aside and support funding to address the 
scourge of drug and alcohol misuse in New Hampshire. Without the 
resources needed to combat the drug epidemic in NH, demand will only 
grow and the supply of illegal drugs flowing into our state will 
increase. It's simple economics.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom