Meetings set on on medical-assisted opioid treatment

People will have three opportunities Monday to attend a presentation intended to shed light on controversial medication-assisted opioid treatment.

Bullhook Community Health Center will present  Dr. Bruce G. Trigg, MD, Dr. Greg Holzman and the state Addictive and Mental Disorders Division team to talk about the method of using medication to help patients break the chains of addiction.

Opioid abuse is a serious public health issue. Drug overdose deaths are the leading cause of injury death in the United States, according to the U.S. Health and Human Services Department. Hill County’s court system is riddled with cases related to illegal use or possession of opioids such as Oxycontin and Oxycodone. Throughout the years, numerous community meetings on the epidemic — how to stave it, how to prevent it, how to help those addicted — have been held.

Bullhook CEO Cindy Smith said she has heard many objections to medication-assisted treatment. She said she hopes Monday’s speakers can put some concerns and objections to rest.

“Monday is about myth-busting. People just think you replace one drug with another drug — not true,” Smith said.

Medication-assisted treatment is the use of anti-craving medicine such as naltrexone, buprenorphine or methadone — along with comprehensive therapy and support — to help address issues related to opioid dependence.

Bullhook employees have advocated for this treatment because they believe such approaches are often needed to successfully overcome addiction and maintain recovery. Some employees have already received training to administer medication-assisted treatment, Smith said.

One common concern Smith said she has heard is that type of treatment can “open the floodgates” to such an influx of people there will be too many to care for.

“That hasn’t been the case in the other communities,” she said.

Some members of the law enforcement community also oppose the treatment on the basis that the medication is already sold on the streets, Smith added.

Another common belief is that people will seek the drugs to replace one way of getting high with another.

“People think they can get high on the stuff, but those receptors are blocked and they can only get to a certain point,” Smith said.

Available times for people to attend will be 9 to 11:30 a.m., or 4 to 5 p.m. in the Jon Tester Room at Bullhook, or 6 to 8 p.m. in the community meeting at Best Western Havre Inn and Suites.