Fentanyl myths debunked during INBA panel

By Colleen Reynolds
INBA member

Experts on the frontline of helping those with substance use disorder highlighted the complexities of treating those individuals and the challenges of reporting on those who suffer from the medical condition.

During a panel discussion titled Reporting on the opioid crisis held on the final day of the Illinois Broadcasters Association convention in East Peoria, Chris Schaffner, executive director of JOLT Foundation emphasized harm reduction is a more humane and effective approach to helping people manage their substance use disorder.

Harm reduction represents programs and policies that aim to reduce the risk associated with drug use. Schaffner pointed out one of the myths about drug addiction is that it impacts so many people who have abused alcohol or drugs. In fact, he points out, data from SAMHSA (the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) reveals 85% of those who use alcohol and drugs stop without problems.

Schaffner says another myth is that fentanyl is a “weapon of mass destruction,” and that even miniscule amounts can threaten first responders. Experts on the panel called it one of the most harmful myths, because it can delay response by emergency personnel who are fearful they will experience a possibly fatal exposure. In most cases with police officers who’ve had some reaction, it was later learned their symptoms were the result of a panic attack, according to Schaffner.

Individuals addicted to fentanyl need to go through withdrawal before they can begin medication assistance. The use of NARCAN to revive someone who has overdosed does result in immediate withdrawal symptoms that can be very severe, and the process takes longer than with other opiates. Schaffner emphasized that’s why it’s challenging to use the D.A.R.E. mentality of just stop using.

The D.A.R.E. program, most prominent in the 1980s and 1990s, was funded by the U.S. government. That effort was in 75% of American school districts and consisted of police officers based in schools or making visits to elementary school classrooms, warning children that drugs are harmful and should be refused.

However, funding for D.A.R.E. was greatly reduced in the 2000s because of its poor performance at reducing drug use. Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood, Schaffner and Street Medicine doctor Mary Stapel of OSF HealthCare say the “just say no” approach doesn’t work, and the goal of abstinence is not realistic for many with substance use disorder.

“Abstinence is not the only standard for recovery,” Schaffner said.

Instead, Stapel suggests giving those with substance use disorder tools to take better care of their health and in many cases, motivation to change happens on its own.

“We see a more sustained recovery,” she said. “We need to lower the barriers to access treatment.”

Opioid settlement money is not necessarily being used to make access to treatment easier. Panelists say the money is not getting to community-based organizations. Harm reduction programs are seeing little funding in Illinois and legislation has been introduced in Washington to put more guardrails on how states are spending opioid settlement funds because money has gone, in some cases, to fill budget holes and for non-related expenditures.

Despite lingering myths around opioid use disorder and fentanyl, Coroner Harwood confirmed that when the supply of street drugs is examined, the amount of fentanyl and other dangerous substances mixed with opioids or heroin is “exponentially higher in quantity than we have historically seen.”

Schaffner explained that the competitive nature of the drug market means opioids or heroin are mixed with mood enhancers or other substances to make their products stand out.

Overdose deaths are down

New data shows overdose deaths dropped in 2023 for the first since time 2018. But those on the INBA panel think the drop could be due to the fact that so many people caught up in the opioid epidemic have already lost their lives. However, they expressed “cautious optimism” that harm reduction efforts could be a contributing factor.

Despite some optimism, the experts point out the number of overdose deaths still surpasses the total amount of people who have died in the United States from colon and breast cancer combined.

The group was asked about recent policy changes that have been helpful in addressing opioid overdose deaths.

Stapel pointed out that in January 2023, the federal government allowed office-based clinicians to prescribe or administer helpful medications for those with opioid use disorder (OUD). Buprenorphine and suboxone are now available through primary care physicians and other medical providers who historically had to obtain special training and federal permission to prescribe such medications. However, she said education is still important and some providers are skittish about prescribing the therapeutics because they’re just not that familiar with how they work.

Advice for journalists covering opioid epidemic

Stapel advises using “person-first” language. That’s a way of speaking that emphasizes the person before their disability and is used to describe what a person has rather than who they are. For example, saying a “person with addiction” rather than calling them “an addict.”

Stapel says the Street Medicine team at OSF HealthCare uses an approach of “radical humility,” that considers a person’s lived experience that often includes trauma and adverse childhood events for which they are self-medicating. In many cases, self-medication with chemical substances occurs because someone is from an under resourced community with little access to the kind of help they really need. The team tries to take a holistic approach that helps get to the root of what’s behind the use.

So, Stapel says it’s important for medical providers to learn their patient’s story. Likewise, panelists say journalists should learn to tell those life stories as well.

Schaffner cautions against using B-roll that contains sensationalist images such as lights and sirens and needles going into veins. He says that tends to reinforce the idea that people who use drugs are criminals to be punished. That tough-on-drug-users approach doesn’t work. As he put it, “The threat of punishment doesn’t reduce substance use disorder.”

Colleen Reynolds is a longtime INBA member who currently works as a media relations coordinator for OSF HealthCare. She previously reported for WGLT and WJBC-AM in Bloomington-Normal.