Longing for a difference: Super Bowl Ad and Opioid Addiction Insanity
A little over a week ago, this ad ran
during the Super Bowl
It deals with opioid -induced constipation
and is, in my opinion, both discreet and direct, as well as very, very
charming. It’s a very subtle ad for a
medication that might help, but it is also much more than that, sending a
message that people who take opioids are out there in the world among us,
normal people living normal lives. And it’s created in partnership with a
number of excellent organizations, such as CreakyJoints, For Grace, US Pain
Foundation, American Chronic Pain Association and The Power of Pain.
Immediately, lots of people made a joke
about this being an ad for constipated junkies, Bill Maher among
them. But it didn’t stop there. Others were outraged, including the White
House Chief of Staff, who tweeted
“next year, how about fewer ads that fuel opioid addiction and more on access
to treatment.”
Seriously.
The very first words in the ad are “if you
need an opioid to manage your chronic pain.” The fact that the reactions are so
incredibly off the mark makes me worry whether this is the tipping point. Has
the War on Drugs now officially succeeded in equating opioid use with
addiction, to the point of that people are (wilfully) closing their eyes to the
very legitimate role opioids play in the management of severe chronic pain? How
else could an intelligent person like the White
House Chief of Staff claim that this little ad fuels opioid addiction? I’m
still stuck how on earth that could possibly be the case, but will move on to
something else. Namely the issue of access to treatment.
I don’t mean the kind of treatment that Mr.
McDonough mentioned. I mean the treatment of chronic pain, which is getting
harder and harder to get. Because chronic severe pain often requires opioids.
Due to the government cracking down on the “peddlers” of the drugs (i.e.,
doctors), it is becoming much harder for them to write the prescriptions
without being scrutinized in an extremely obstructive way. It’s also getting
much more difficult for the “junkies” (i.e., the people living with chronic
pain) to fill their prescription. In New York, it is now against the law for
pharmacists to stock more than a certain amount of any opioids, which mean that
they may not
be able to fill prescriptions.
The people who suffer in all of this are
the people who live with chronic pain. I don’t often use the term ‘suffer,’ but
in this case I mean it. Having the kind of chronic pain that requires treatment
by opioids, and not being able to get it
treated, is tantamount to being tortured. And that’s what happens day after
day, all over the US and Canada, where millions live with high levels of
chronic pain. With these increasing restrictions, based on scaremongering, we
are held prisoner by the War on Drugs.
Unfortunately, the Geneva Convention doesn’t
apply to us, and thus, the torture continues, while the world and men like Maher
and McDonough look down on us as junkies, all the time perpetuating the
stereotype that opioids = addiction.
But it doesn’t. A large meta study showed
that when prescribed and taken correctly, taking opioids result in addiction in
a quarter of one percent. (1) When you add people who have previously been
addicted to the sample being studied, that number increases to a whopping 3.3
percent. (2)
That means more than 97 percent of those receiving
a correct prescription and, likely, education in how to take the medication
correctly, do not get addicted.
So where is the opioid crisis coming from?
I suspect a lack of education, both of doctors and patients. Most doctors don’t
know the intricacies of pain management techniques, nor do they have the time
or the resources to properly educate their patients. Additionally, the people
who are not getting the prescriptions that they need may seek the pills
elsewhere — because remember about the torture — and, not receiving the
supervision of a doctor, may take them in a way that could lead to addiction.
Maybe if a fraction of the money spent on
the War on Opioids were to be spent on education materials, the rate of
addiction would go down. Instead, they blindly restrict and compassion flies
out the window. Dan Malito has a theory that we are on the way to
banning narcotic medications entirely, and I think he might be onto
something.
The ad that started this rant ends with the
suggestion that if the viewer is longing for a difference, they should check
out the website.
I am longing for a difference. As are so
many of my peers who rely on opioids to achieve a basic quality of life.
Because that’s what it is about for us. These drugs make the difference between
being housebound, maybe bedbound and perhaps suicidal, and being able to live
our lives, to be there for our families, to work, to contribute, to laugh.
We are your friends, your family, your
neighbours, and your colleagues. And we need your help. Alone, we cannot fight
this tide of crazy.
Help us turn the tide.
Comments
RAISE THE RATES, LEAVE OUR BUS PASS ALONE
Please sign and distribute!
CLICK HERE TO SIGN THE PETITION
https://www.change.org/p/premier-christy-clark-raise-the-rates-leave-our-bus-pass-alone
We want Premier Christy Clark and Minister Michelle Stilwell to raise the rates and leave our bus pass alone!
Bring back the $45 per year bus pass for people with disabilities.
Eliminate the new $52/month bus pass fee.
Let everyone receiving PWD benefits keep the $77/month increase.
Raise the PWD benefit rate to $1200 per month by October 1, 2016 to reflect the cost of living.
Background:
On February 16, 2016, the Province of BC tabled its budget.
People with disabilities received a small increase to their disability benefits but there was a catch. The $77 per month increase was tied to the cost of a person's transportation. These are the changes, effective September 1st, 2016:
People with disabilities will receive a $77 per month increase to their benefits.
People receiving PWD benefits will no longer be able to purchase an annual bus pass for a $45 annual fee.
The cost of the bus pass will go up from $0 to $52 per month, plus an annual $45 administration fee.
For people with a bus pass, the new change means a $25/month PWD benefit rate increase. After a nine-year rate freeze, this is an insult.
Why we need a rate increase:
Having increased by only $120 since 2001, BC disability benefit rates of $906/month are among the lowest in the country; yet we live in one of the most expensive provinces. People with disabilities struggle with impossible pressures, including whether to get a bit of extra money to buy food or take the bus. We are falling behind and desperately need a rate increase that reflects the cost of living in BC.
As our provincial government tabled its budget, it touted BC as having the best financial outlook in the country. The government was finally in a position to announce an increase in benefits to catch up to the rapidly rising cost of living.
To finally give people an increase only to claw it back for something as essential as transportation is mean-spirited and out-of-touch.
Read our report, Overdue: the case for increasing the persons with disabilities benefit in BC