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HEROIN OVERDOSES UNLIKELY TO DECREASE SOON

RE: "43 died of heroin overdoses in New Orleans in 2015, coroner says." Metro.  January 29.

The spike in heroin overdoses in Orleans and Jefferson parishes is alarming.  Also alarming is the lack of resources for people who are battling opioid addiction.  Until the barriers to treatment are addressed and access to care is available, opioid abuse and the corresponding overdoses will not decrease.

The quickest and most efficient way to address the current opioid crisis is to make sure that substance abuse treatment services, including detox, are readily available to the community.  Treatment beds are severely limited in both Orleans and Jefferson parishes, leading to long wait lists at most substance abuse treatment facilities.  This uptick in opioid overdoses should be recognized as a public health issue.  Without readily available treatment options, an addict will continue to use until, inevitably, that person is met with deadly results.

This issue has been years in the making.  Unless the city begins to recognize the root of the problem and invest in a system of care that can move people into treatment, we will continue to move people suffering from substance abuse into the morgue.

Edward C.  Carlson, MA, M.F.T.

Chief Executive Officer

Odyssey House Louisiana