Elizabethtown College students, faculty and community members gathered in Gibble Auditorium for an Opioid Epidemic Symposium Monday, Feb. 19. Panelists discussed everything from why these opioids, such as heroin, are so addictive, how to help people overcome addictions and the impact opioid problems can have on families.
Pennsylvania now has the fourth-highest opioid overdose rate in the United States, behind only West Virginia, Ohio and New Hampshire, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Wednesday, Jan. 10, Governor Tom Wolfe declared a “disaster emergency” statewide status for this epidemic after over 5,000 people died of overdoses in 2017 alone.
The panelists included Mary Dolheimer, a board member of York County’s Not One More organization; Kate Eberz, a social worker at the Naaman Center in Elizabethtown; associate professor of biochemistry Dr. Tom Hagan; professor of political science Dr. E. Fletcher McClellan and Gail Viscome, executive director of Elizabethtown Area Communities That Care.
Social work department chair Dr. Susan Mapp introduced the panelists. The social work department also sponsored the event. A variety of informational pamphlets on everything from the South Central PA Opioid Awareness Coalition to the “Know When. Know How.” campaign, were available for audience members.
Dolheimer opened the panel by sharing the story of her son’s opioid addiction before discussing the Not One More organization. Not One More raises awareness of heroin addiction and offers support and resources to families and addicts. Dolheimer serves as the organization’s secretary and treasurer. Even though her son is three months clean, Dolheimer still remembers the times when he was not.
“When you live with an addict, you come to appreciate each good day,” she said.
Hagan, who presented next, teaches a first-year seminar (FYS) on addictions and the science behind them. At the symposium, he explained what happens at the molecular level when someone is addicted to opioids.
“Addiction, especially opioid addiction, is very complicated,” Hagan said in an email prior to the event. “Though we all have the same molecules in place which afford biological activity, the response of these molecules to each other and outside stimuli is quite diverse. That’s why there is no single solution to the problem.”
He explained how opioids, such as heroin, affect and even change the brain. According to Hagan, neurological pathways that have adapted to the presence of drugs can take one to two years to adjust to the absence of drugs once someone quits. However, Hagan pointed out that there is a significant gap between what addicts need to recover and what their health insurance will provide, and said this gap must narrow for the crisis to be solved.
“Like cancer, addiction has many different types, and each type has different ways of treating it,” Hagan said. “There is a molecular and cellular basis to the condition, and since each person responds differently to various treatments, a single monolithic approach to treating the disease is impossible. I personally feel there is hope [that] scientifically-grounded medical treatments combined with a strong humanistic component will go a long way.”
Eberz, the next presenter, talked about ways she and her colleagues help people overcome opioid addiction.
“Most people start with a progressive ‘drawing a line in the sand,’” Eberz said regarding the start of an addiction. She also said it is important that patients are realistic about recovery and that they realize they will not get better immediately. Still, she said many recovered patients tell her they are glad they got better.
She also listed many ways ordinary people can help battle the opioid crisis, from understanding how addiction works to investing in youth and promoting healthy and meaningful relationships.
Next, McClellan discussed the politics of opioids. He argued that when it came to recognizing the opioid problem, the federal government was relatively slow compared to local and state governments. He made several conclusions about the governmental response to the problem, including that the Trump administration uses conflicting strategies to deal with the epidemic and states must take the lead in solving the problem in the absence of coherent federal leadership.
Finally, Viscome, a music therapist, discussed the roles families can have in preventing their children from becoming involved with opioids. She explained the “Know When. Know How.” campaign, which encourages parents to start educating their children about drugs and alcohol when they are eight to 11 years old. Viscome said this early education can help kids establish transparency with their parents and make them less likely to partake in underage drinking.
