Eugene weekly., June 22, 2017, Page 9, Image 9

NEWS
BY CORINNE BOYER
FDA SEEKS TO REMOVE
OPANA ER FROM MARKET
Opioid prescriptions decline in Oregon
or the first time, the Food and Drug Administration has requested that a prescrip-
tion opioid be removed from the market.
On June 8, the FDA announced in a press release that for reformulated Opana
ER — a time released semi-synthetic opioid — risks outweigh its benefits.
The agency cited a major outbreak of HIV in rural Indiana associated with the
drug as a factor in the decision.
“We talked about, at the advisory committee meeting, looking at the generic version
of oxymorphone immediate release and extended release, so that’s something we are still
evaluating,” says Sarah Peddicord, a press officer with the FDA.
An Oregon law aims to thwart opioid addiction by regulating prescription practices.
The state’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program requires that all schedule II, III and
IV drug prescriptions be entered into a database. The PDMP quarterly report released in
March shows a drop in top prescribed opioids such as hydrocodone, oxycodone, mor-
phine and tramadol compared to 2016 — both morphine and hydrocodone prescriptions
dropped by more than 12 percent.
In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control released new guidelines for prescribing opi-
oids because the agency found no evidence of “long-term benefits of opioid therapy for
chronic pain.” Opioid addiction is a national public health epidemic and both the FDA
and the CDC have formed specialized committees to evaluate and address the crisis.
While opioid prescriptions are on a downward trend, the latest statistics in Lane Coun-
ty show that approximately 36 people died every year from opioid overdoses alone from
2013 through 2015, according to Lane County Public Health.
“At a population level, we are seeing deaths by overdose achieving the numbers once
only reserved for deaths by car accidents,” Lane County Public Health Officer Dr. Patrick
Luedtke writes in an email.
Dwight Holton, CEO of Lines for Life, a suicide and drug prevention nonprofit, says
the FDA’s decision could lead to safer prescribing practices.
F
While opioid prescriptions are on a
downward trend, the latest statistics in
Lane County show that approximately
36 people died every year from opioid
overdoses alone from 2013 through 2015.
“I think one of the big, evolutionary changes that we are seeing is a shift from even
a year ago… has shifted to an understanding that opioid prescribing for chronic pain is
simply not safe,” Holton says. “And that rather than needing to take care in our approach
to opioid prescribing for chronic pain, more and more prescribers are beginning to be-
lieve that giving a chronic pain patient an opioid is not doing them a favor — it’s putting
them at risk.”
Holton says the nonprofit is supportive of Oregon House Bill 3440, which would
allow the Oregon Health Authority to use the PDMP system to “determine whether prac-
titioners are prescribing opioids or opiates in compliance with guidelines,” according to
the bill’s summary.
Additionally, HB 2645, which is geared toward addiction prevention, would require
drug manufacturers to develop drug take-back programs and have disposal boxes for
customers to drop off their unused prescriptions.
Holton says many opioid addictions begin from unfinished prescriptions in medicine
cabinets. According to data from Lane County Public Health, the addictions of four out
of five current heroin users stem from first using prescription opioids.
In Scott County, Indiana, the Center for Disease Control found that of the 31 people
surveyed in its Opana ER study, 17 were HIV positive and 28 were positive for Hepatitis
C. Most interviewees also reported sharing “a quarter of a pill injection with two to four
partners,” according to CDC Outbreak Investigations Involving Opana ER.
As far as assessing other opioids, Peddicord says “it’s premature for us to speculate on
any other opioids at this time.”
• How many renters get evicted in Lane County each year? The numbers are not
easy to come by, but local demographics mapper Joe Kosewic has tracked the landlord
cases that end up in court in Oregon and broken down the numbers by county. Evictions
that are uncontested far outnumber actual court cases, he figures. Lane County had
1,794 court-contested evictions in 2016. Multnomah County had 5,446, Washington
County had 2,952 and Marion County had 1,951. Kosewic says the Residential Eviction
Complaint form doesn’t track whether children are involved in the evictions. “Student
residential mobility is a major problem,” he says, “that disrupts the students’ social
network and academic development.” Kosewic’s data and graphic maps are available by
emailing him at kosewic1@gmail.com.
• This week in kudos: EW’s Corinne Boyer has been awarded a Journalism and
Women Symposium Emerging Journalist Fellowship. The fellowship is given annually
to ten women nationwide who are in the beginning stages of their journalism careers.
The fellowship sends Boyer to the JAWS Conference and Mentorship Project, where
fellows meet leading women in the journalism field to share their skills and learn new
ones.
WE’RE SO SKEWED.
COMPARING DONALD TRUMP VOTERS AND HILLARY CLINTON VOTERS
PolicyInteractive has previously reported that conservatives and liberals have more in common than one would think,
but the current political climate is seen to be driving increased political polarization. PI asks the question why are
some people attracted to the conservative ideology and others attracted to the liberal ideology? What are the issues
that are pulling us apart and why? Watch this space for continuing exploration of why “we’re so skewed.”
National survey conducted by PolicyInteractive out of Eugene, OR; 198 Trump voters and 209 Clinton voters;
Nonprobability sample; See full results and methodology at goo.gl/Cf5Xcp.
Robin Quirke is an associate researcher at PolicyInteractive.
• EW’s Rick Levin and Todd Cooper are finalists in the 2017 Association of Alternative
Newsmedia Awards. Levin is a finalist in the Arts Criticism category for his review of the
documentary “It’s Not Funny Anymore — In Tickled, journalist David Farrier exposes the
wealth, power and abuse behind a bizarre Internet fetish.” Cooper is a finalist in the
Photography category for his submission 2016 in Music, a series of ten photographs.
The awards will be announced on July 29 at the AAN Convention in D.C.
• It’s an exciting time for Eugene and Oregon, three speakers told the City Club of
Eugene June 16. Because of the University of Oregon, basic scientific research is
leading to thriving businesses right here, and the coming of the billion-dollar Knight
campus will accelerate this movement. Speakers were Don Tucker, CEO and chief
scientist of Electrical Geodesics; Matt Beaudet, CEO of NemaMetrix; and Richard Geiger,
CEO of Dune Sciences. Dr. David Conover, vice president for Research and Innovation at
the UO, asked the speakers for their advice to the school. Their answers: foster
connections, offer internships for UO students, encourage these outstanding students
to stay in Eugene.
• On July 1, the minimum wage in Lane County goes up to $10.25, in Portland metro
area to $11.25 and in “nonurban” counties to $10. By July 1, 2022, our county will be
up to $13.50. Oregon’s Legislature is doing better than the federal government, but
where’s that $15 an hour, the least we should have in progressive Oregon? Sooner,
please.
• Portland-based dance band The Slants won at the U.S. Supreme Court June 19
when the justices ruled unanimously that The Slants can trademark their name,
offensive or not. The federal Patent and Trademark Office had refused to register the
name, ruling it was a racial slur. That was the point, argued Slants founder and bassist
Simon Tam. “We were bringing more awareness to issues of oppression by using our art
as a platform,” he told EW in March. Said the court: “Speech may not be banned on the
ground that it expresses ideas that offend.” The 39-page opinion adds that Trump-
appointee Neil Gorsuch “took no part in the consideration or decision of this case.”
eugeneweekly.com • June 22, 2017
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