From opioids to HIV -- a public health threat in Trump country

[DonViejo]

Source: Politico




The report of at-risk counties was to a great extent a map of the Trump heartland.

By BRIANNA EHLEY 10/21/2017 07:01 AM EDT

The next HIV epidemic in America is likely brewing in rural areas suffering under the nationwide opioid crisis, with many of the highest risk communities in deep red states that voted for President Donald Trump.

Federal and state health officials say they are unprepared for such an outbreak, and don’t have the programs or the funding to deal with a surge in HIV cases. And given how little screening for HIV there is in some rural counties, they worry it may have already begun.

Scott County, Ind., was Ground Zero for an outbreak two years ago. Nearly 200 opioid users in poor, rural Austin became infected with HIV, primarily as a result of shooting up powerful prescription opioids with contaminated needles.

Health officials believe it’s a harbinger of things to come as opioid abuse — painkillers, heroin, fentanyl and other drugs — rages on.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/21/opioids-hiv-public-health-threat-red-states-trump-243999

[coolsandy]

1. None of these were "public health threats" when confined to the inner cities. But folks warned on

how it was coming to rural areas and the suburbs.

[BumRushDaShow]

3. THIS

And if you didn't die in the streets, you were thrown in prison. It resulted in massive tarring & feathering & shaming of an entire community (the vast majority of whom were not engaged in the epidemic) to come up with ideas like clean needle distribution and pushing for more methadone clinics.

It's interesting that the word "methadone" hasn't been uttered in this opioid conversation.

[Motownman78]

4. Because Methadone is 10 times worse than heroin

to come off of. I know from personal experience. Everyone I know that has been put on Methadone has never been able to get off of it.

[BumRushDaShow]

5. The difference being

one is legal and monitored and the other is illegal and leads to other abuses and illnesses (including the one described in the OP).

[Motownman78]

6. Methadone is constantly abused. n/t

[TeeYiYi]

9. I'm glad you posted this...

I logged in just so I could respond to the post you replied to, but I'll add to your response instead.

Very simply, Methadone is one of dirtiest, scariest, potentially lethal drugs on the market. No one should be prescribed that drug without adequate warning and a complete understanding of the dangers and risk involved. Methadone does not discriminate. It will kill you if you don't know what you're doing and still might kill you even if you think that you do know what you're doing.

The last person that should be expected to understand the risks and be expected to take adequate precautions with this drug is an addict. They might be sincerely trying to kick heroin but the addicted mind never stops trying to get high.

There are all kinds of drugs that can be safely mixed together but Methadone is not one of them. As soon as you add Methadone to any mix, you've pretty much sealed your fate. You're gonna' wake up DEAD.

If you look at the increased number of overdose deaths in the last 15 years, particularly high profile overdose deaths, you'll usually find Methadone on the list of ingested drugs. When doctors started prescribing it for chronic pain, at the behest of greedy drug and insurance companies, the number of overdose deaths skyrocketed. That was at least 17 years ago.

No one is talking about Methadone because there's too much money involved to risk getting it banned. It's still out there, indiscriminately killing people; it's just not being discussed anymore because the subject has been redirected by the media.

The conversation is now aimed at opiates in general, but if you're willing to look a little closer and peel back the layers, you'll likely still find Methadone in the fine print.

If you compare overdose stories from 15 years ago and current media coverage of today's opiate crisis, you'll notice that Methadone is being omitted and in some cases scrubbed from the internet. The wayback machine would be a useful tool to investigate this point.

Methadone is still out there and it's deadlier than ever... It will KILL you!

TYY

[not fooled]

2. Calling Betty Price

Gotta quarantine those counties, STAT!!!1!!11!!1 Oh, wait, it's red counties. Neverrrr mind.

Are things gonna change now that it's starting to be dump voters?:

The prospect that HIV is transforming itself from a disease that primarily affected gay men and minorities in urban centers to one that targets rural, red-state America could have huge political, as well as public health implications.

Such a health scourge could upend GOP orthodoxy, which has traditionally opposed government distribution of sterile needles (arguing it promotes drug abuse) and mandated coverage of mental health services, including substance abuse treatment (arguing that too many mandates raise the cost of insurance and people shouldn’t be forced to buy services they don’t want or think they’ll need).

Little is known about how Trump might respond to outbreaks of HIV or AIDS in rural, red-state America. His budget blueprint would have cut or eliminated funding for the big HIV and AIDS programs, although Congress rejected his approach and kept funding flat.

Vice President Mike Pence, as governor of Indiana, was heavily criticized for dragging his feet before allowing the distribution of sterile needles as part of a program endorsed by the CDC to prevent the spread of HIV and hepatitis C among intravenous drug users.

[riversedge]

7. I read that yesterday. Very cruel to say the least

[A Morpheus Felinae]

8. I was thinking the same thing

This appears to dovetail nicely with Prices' quarantine inquiry. I've no doubt that should an outbreak occur the trump regime will have no problem attempting to implement such a solution. Dare I say, final solution?

[YOHABLO]

10. Politico sucks

[KY_EnviroGuy]

11. Typical RED state country towns are the perfect target for drug dealers.

The plague spreads quickly and establishes its own self-sustaining network. Local police are poorly paid and many can be bribed to stay away.

It spreads itself easily from town to town, almost without the "normal" people even noticing. After it's too late, it finally comes to light, everyone prays and clutches their pearls, and there are little or no resources available to help the addicts.

Their so-called innocence is killing them. Welcome to the new America, GOP ship of fools.

[NickB79]

12. If only there were a national org that offered cheap STD screenings

Where people could be tested for HIV. And that set up clinics in rural, poor areas to serve those most at need.

Ah well, I'm sure it's nothing a little prayer can't fix.