Funds to Help Reduce/Eliminate Unhealthy Opioid Use

It angers me that people can be so dismissive of themselves. The April 24th local newspaper ran an article that points out that Laramie County received $1.3 million in opioid settlement funds in 2023; and yet, none of it has been spent due to fear of not spending it correctly and having to later on pay it back, according to one of the county commissioners. However, the article states that: "The OneWyo Opioid Settlement Memorandum of Agreement lists more than 70 ways the money can be spent, including expanding the availability of treatment for opioid use disorder, training and scholarships for health care providers combating the crisis, and public education campaigns."

Twice as many residents died from overdoses in 2023 than in 2017, according to Wyoming’s Vital Statistics Services. That was 120 deaths (10 deaths each month), of which 81 were from opioids, and 52 of those (one every week) were linked to fentanyl. Drug use/addiction is a hard beast to fight, and standing still is allowing it to fester even more.

I have heard that there used to be at least one Roberts House in Cheyenne. The Laramie County jail is trying to meet the needs of inmates with mental health issues by providing a section for extra attention to help them when they are released. Mental health and drug use/abuse often are connected, and there needs to be more recovery houses for people transitioning back into self-sufficiency while gaining the tools needed to live as law-abiding, clean and sober residents.

My suggestion is to reach out to surrounding areas that have successful Roberts Houses, and encourage them to increase their influence and success by establishing and running some Roberts Houses here in Cheyenne.

Our communities owe it to themselves and surrounding communities to push the use of opioids, both pure and synthetic, away. And we need to help law enforcement confiscate them and/or collect them from folks voluntarily turning them over so they can be safely and effectively disposed. Our county and other counties' commissioners are asking for public input with ideas on how to best utilize the funds sitting stagnant while awaiting being put to good use. Please, please, please contact your representatives with any ideas you have.

Copyright © April 24, 2024, by Maeke Ermarth

Cheyenne, WY

Exiting with Naxolone

There are at least two sides to a topic or issue, including whether or not to provide inmates being released from prison with Naxolone.  I understand policy makers being wary of doing something that, on the surface, appears to be a “pass” for addicts to return to their addictions.  But after reviewing and witnessing stories and results of various perceptions, tactics, and programs surrounding addiction recovery, I believe providing inmates with Naxolone upon release is worth a five-year trial. 

Imagining myself being an inmate about to be released, I am sufficiently detoxed.  I have attended AA, NA, and/or Al-Anon meetings (or similar programs) while incarcerated.  Upon release, unless court ordered to go to a halfway house for recovering addicts, I will return to where I came from prior to incarceration.  Chances are high that I will associate with the same people as I did prior to serving time. 

If I am released without Naxolone, my chance of relapsing is high.  Despite today’s numbers of overdoses, my concern about relapsing is minimal because to addicts the prospect of death caused by using is a likely fact.  Some, if not most, of my social network will be involved in risky behaviors, and they will not discourage my return to my old ways.

If I am released with Naxolone, I am leaving with a container of hope.  My accepting it indicates I have a preference for life – either my own or someone else’s.  Obviously, if I overdose, I cannot administer the product to myself; but I will hope someone else will know how to administer it to me.  I might even go so far as to teach a few people close to me how to do that.  Or, I might be in the presence of someone else who overdoses and needs to be revived – an experience I’ve no doubt would have a lasting, profound effect on me and bring to ultimate clarity how essential it is to never take addictive drugs again.

Why society continues to keep the “needy” in need after witnessing the devastating effects doing so has on society in general, not to mention the loss of hope it can extract from those in need, is beyond my comprehension.  Until the policy makers themselves experience addiction and the effects of incarceration themselves, they will never appreciate the stigma, exclusions, and barriers addicts encounter.  We keep throwing away money on reactions to addiction that have been practiced for generations.  It would make sense to spend money on something different that may very well prove successful in the long term.

The public is kidding itself if it believes releasing incarcerated addicts with Naxolone would give the addict a reason to resume his/her addiction in the outside world.  The reality is that if the addict is going to use, he/she will do so regardless of whether or not Naxolone is available.  The signal an addict will receive if released with Naxolone is that the outside world does care about him/her and wants the inmate to remain alive, with hopes of choosing to live drug free.  So many addicts in recovery have shown their desire to “give back” and help others go through the process of a successful recovery.  That, in and of itself, is impetus for the rest of us to help that movement continue.

I ask that residents pressure their representatives to reconsider their latest vote, and do the right thing by giving “release with Naxolone” a five-year opportunity.  With the epidemic we currently face, we have absolutely nothing to lose; but we sure do have something priceless to gain.

Copyright © July 2017 by Maeke Ermarth

                    Cheyenne, WY