“Kids Are Dying” is the story of New Jersey’s growing drug overdose epidemic. Heroin, and other opiates, such as misused and abused prescription pain medication, are literally killing people at record levels. The film documents the devastating effects it’s having on both urban and suburban communities. Watch this important documentary and share it with everyone you know.
A production of Stay In Your Lane Media
Kids Are Dying Trailer
Kids Are Dying Movie
Kids Are Dying
“Kids Are Dying” is a unique film that tells the tragic story of what is now the #1 cause of accidental death in America – drug overdoses. This film will be what convinces people that this epidemic does exist and that it exists in most every rural and suburban community in the country.
Unlike almost every other project done on this issue, this film will explain the most difficult question every parent of a lost child could ask: How Did We Get Here?
What takes a suburban youth, with every protective factor he or she could have, growing up in an affluent suburb in a good family, to a degrading, homeless state of urban turmoil completely and helplessly addicted to heroin? What causes this is more than anything else – drugs… specifically heroin, and more often than not, it starts with a prescription pill. As a “pill society”, we seek to remedy every ailment or perceived ailment with a pill. This phenomenon has led to the heroin scourge that exists today.
The film exposes the ties prescription drug abuse has to organized criminal enterprises and street gangs. Gangs are another thing that many people don’t believe exist in the suburbs, but the thing that is fueling suburban gang migration more than anything else is the prescription drug and heroin epidemic in this country.
This documentary dives into the MOST Important part of the problem – The SOLUTION. From prescription drug drop-off boxes to a monitoring system, to early education, and to some very unique approaches. There are solutions to this Epidemic. This film will show what those solutions are and leave you asking yourself why we didn’t solve this problem sooner.
The rise in drug overdose deaths in America is real. It affects everyone. This film is something you will never forget.
Get the film for a tax deductible donation. Prevention, treatment, and response strategies that help reduce both heroin and opioid pain reliever overdose deaths are desperately needed.
It’s not just in the inner cities.
Heroin is a problem EVERYWHERE – even in your community. City, suburb, countryside… it’s already there.
Example of a small town issue - Vineland Police Discuss Local Heroin Problem
Police Discuss Local Heroin Problem.
May 7, 2014 Written by Chris Torres for the Daily Journal
Original article: http://www.thedailyjournal.com/story/news/local/2014/05/08/police-discuss-local-heroin-problem/8837713/
VINELAND – As nationwide concerns of heroin and prescription drug abuse grow, there’s proof that Cumberland County isn’t immune. A total of 461 patients were admitted to Inspira Health Network’s three area hospitals for drug overdoses last year, according to Raghuraj Tomar, clinical director of Inspira’s Mental Health Unit.
Of that total, 340 patients were admitted in Vineland, 29 in Bridgeton and 92 in Elmer.
Those numbers, along with concerns of people experimenting at younger ages, were among the issues discussed by local law enforcement and social service agencies Wednesday at a prescription drug and heroin conference at Cumberland County College.
Locally, authorities have noticed that more are turning toward heroin due to a price drop.
“The cost of prescription drugs is more than the cost of heroin,” said Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae. “When they don’t have an avenue to get the prescription drugs anymore, it’s so much easier to turn into a heroin addict.”
Millville Police Department Detective Lt. Jody Farabella said the cost of heroin was around $20 a bag when he joined the department 14 years ago. Now, a bag costs $5.
“Heroin and prescription drugs are really two different animals,” Farabella said. “Most kids start off with pills. They’ll take them because they can swallow them. As time goes on pills cost more money on the street. They want to get the pills – and sometimes they can’t – and that’s where they turn to heroin as the alternative.”
“I don’t think anyone wakes up and says they want to be a heroin addict,” said Webb-McRae. “They don’t understand the choice of taking that one pill, and where that could lead to. It’s opened up my mind in that we can’t just approach this as a criminal justice department. We have to deal with the addiction, the recovery and the education part of it. Otherwise we won’t really address the problem.”
During the event, a documentary on heroin addiction called “Kids are Dying” was shown by the nonprofit Steered Straight founder and president Michael DeLeon.
DeLeon also talked about his own past as a drug addict and a drug dealer. In 1995, his mother was murdered due to his involvement in a gang, and not long after that his wife and daughter were threatened at gunpoint due to a botched drug deal.
“That first line of cocaine ended my life,” DeLeon said. “Prison and God allowed me to get that life back.”
Webb-McRae said the Prosecutor’s Office is considering equipping police across the county with Narcan, a medication to treat people suffering from a drug overdose.
The generic name of the drug is Naloxone, and is administered as a nasal spray. It reverses the effects of heroin and other drugs in the event of an overdose. Law enforcement in Ocean and Monmouth counties are currently carrying Narcan as part of a program administered by Gov. Chris Christie.
“That’s coming,” Webb-McRae said. “We’re working on that. It’s something we’re exploring that the public will hear about soon.”
SOLUTIONS
- The pharmaceutical industry and the medical industry must sit at this table. Doctors don’t systemically look at pain as the 5th vital sign instead as a subjective symptom of an illness or injury. But what happens when addiction develops and becomes a REAL symptom of the medication itself? The addiction must be treated!
- Educators are also solutions. School Superintendents who think it’s solely the parent’s job to educate their kids need to support drug education. Insurance companies who don’t provide adequate treatment or access to treatment based on the individualized needs, especially given the uniqueness of opiate treatment, need to reconsider their stance.
- Courts that foster an overblown system with continual slaps on the wrists, hoping a spiraling addict involved with crime will somehow get it together without treatment.
- Treatment providers that release addicts too early, without relapse prevention or follow-up, in a week or in a month – knowing they’re not ready.
- And PARENTS, who think that it’s not their kid, that it’s not in their backyards, and who don’t teach their kids from a very early age that drugs and alcohol are real, and that they’re extremely dangerous.
Too many people doing the same things – separately – rather than working together. The feds, the state, counties, local governments and agencies – each having divisions and departments of addiction services, and each having meetings to discuss approaches to dealing with how drugs and overdoses are literally devastating families. Task forces throughout New Jersey have been empaneled to craft action plans to address this burgeoning epidemic among youth and young adults. The solutions to this problem are needed NOW. There is no panacea phenomenon to solve this problem. Every solution has its place, but we must take action NOW.
Our 30-Point Solution Strategy
- AWARENESS – The Most Important Solution is Awareness!
Community awareness, parental awareness, youth awareness. Everyone not only needs to know this epidemic is here, but needs to know how they must be involved in the solution. We need to develop and monitor a “strategic public health awareness campaign” to accomplish this. We must make people face the reality that the prejudice and injustice is literally killing people, data proven.- #1 cause of injury death in U.S.
- Drug poisoning mortality: US 2002-2014 http://blogs.cdc.gov/nchs-data-visualization/drug-poisoning-mortality/
- Fatalities have quadrupled in only 3 years.
- Only 1 in 5 who need treatment, get treatment.
- 10% of adults have had drug use disorder, mostly untreated
- Some 4% had such a disorder in the past year, survey data show: http://www.medpagetoday.com/TheGuptaGuide/PainManagement/54795?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2015-11-20&eun=g877818d0r
- Drug use disorders go untreated in millions of americans. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/854672?nlid=91763_2981&src=wnl_edit_dail&uac=229211BJ&impID=894092&faf=1
- 47, 055 people died from “legal” opiate drug poisoning in 2015. The highest mortality rates on record.
- Morbidity and mortality of legally prescribed FDA approved pharmaceuticals is far greater than the prejudicial media campaign of “abuse.” Nothing can be abused until after it is prescribed.
- Another “silent” subset of people being harmed by legally prescribed FDA approved pharmaceuticals is our medicare and SSI population. http://journals.lww.com/lwwmedicalcare/Fulltext/2014/09000/Prescription_Opioid_Use_Among_Disabled_Medicare.13.aspx
- Is “addiction” a disease or a moral choice? According to the AMA (American Medical Association) it is a disease, neuro-biological, and MUST be treated that way with medical standards.
- Currently, society “excludes” individuals with substance use disorders, we must move to “inclusion.”
- We can no longer just look at those afflicted with substance use disorders, we MUST also look at the family
- The impact of addiction on our children: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201607/harvard-study-pegs-how-parental-substance-abuse-impacts-kids
- Heroin and opiate addiction put extra strain on U.S foster care system. http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/10/27/451991809/heroin-opioid-abuse-puts-extra-strain-on-u-s-foster-care-system
- STUDENT EDUCATION – Age appropriate awareness and prevention
Updating and mandating school curriculum that includes effective LEGAL and ILLEGAL drug education for all students. Student awareness on these subjects, particularly legally prescribed pharmaceuticals, are not as effective as they can be, not as in depth as they need to be, not always presented by the most effective messengers, if addressed at all.- Mandate curriculum change for health/PE to include addiction education with community service hours.
- Student assemblies on a regular basis at the very least and preferably built into curriculum. It is very hard to take students away from the current mandated instructional time but this must be done to curb this epidemic www.steeredstraight.org
- Self-worth education throughout a student’s entire education, elementary/middle/high school.
- Parent education is required. We must work with school districts to make parent programs mandatory. This parent education could be tied in with student trips etc., but at the very least a dedicated assembly for parents.
- Social service (guidance counselors) must be trained in childhood trauma and a multitude of other ailments linked to addiction. Early intervention must be a priority.
- PARENT EDUCATION – Parent Academies and Mandatory Parental Awareness
Mandatory parent attendance at school or community sponsored education programs linked to the student’s report card standards. - DETOX/TREATMENT ON DEMAND – Medical approach to treatment
We need to help people who are in need of treatment to find and access the necessary services. We MUST demand that both the medical and criminal justice communities have the most accurate and up to date information about treatment options and resources. This information must be immediately accessible without delay. We must assist and educate substance use disorder patients and their families to navigate the human services system and managed care systems as well. Barriers to the medical care that is required must be eliminated.- Standards of care/Continuum of care: “patients” not “clients.”
- Informed consent.
- Patient bill rights.
- Mental Health Parity Act 2008.
- TREATMENT “INDUSTRY” OVERHAUL
- Medical standards of care.
- Continuum of care.
- Global change of “client” to “patient.”
- MENTAL HEALTH/SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER INSURANCE REFORM
We need to review insurance practices that impede access to treatment including long term care that this chronic disease requires. This is one of the most fundamental parts of how we overcome this epidemic.- Mental Health Parity Act 2008 enforcement.
- Anthony’s Act approval and immediate implementation.
- A 90 day MINIMUM treatment standards to improve outcomes. Today’s 28 day “standard” is in massive failure with death and relapse being the outcome.
- Outpatient “fail first” insurance standard in fact causes harm to the patient thus we must insist on immediate change to this policy.
- Requirement for a “positive” drug screen to meet insurance industry criteria in fact encourages morbidity and mortality of those seeking help.
- CHANGE HIPAA LAWS
We MUST Change HIPAA Laws to do what they were designed to do, and that is to protect patients. The law protects the medical records of “emancipated minors” and prevents parents, family members or friends from gaining access to medical information.
This exists, even if it could save their lives – unless explicit permission is given by the patient. However, many addicts make deliberate efforts to hide their medical records from their parents to cover up their drug abuse. In some ways HIPPA hurts patients allowing addicts who are a danger to themselves to prevent families from understanding all that is wrong in their disease. With young adults now allowed to remain on a parents insurance until age 26, this law must be changed to protect the lives of youth and young adults who are suffering from the disease of addiction. And it must be changed to protect the lives of ALL who suffer from this disease.- Does HIPAA help or hinder a patient’s medical/mental healthcare?
- Rep Tim Murphy (PA) resolutions/solutions
- Does HIPAA help or hinder a patient’s medical/mental healthcare?
- COMMUNITY EDUCATION of RECOVERY RESIDENCES
We must educate our communities on the disease of addiction, its seriousness, and its required treatment. We need communities that embrace and support the initiative of inclusion to improve treatment outcomes.- Recovery community organizations: peer to peer recovery support services.
- Stay in Your Lane: Healthy advice to mom’s, dad’s, and all family members who love addicts (MAP) recovery support. https://relapseprevention.org/stay-in-your-lane/
- Recovery community organizations: peer to peer recovery support services.
- MEDICATION – ASSISTED TREATMENT (MAT)
Utilize medication-assisted treatment, such as buprenorphine and vivitrol with a clear understanding of the benefits, limitations and the risks. This treatment should not be used as a standard without provider monitoring and treatment/recovery assistance. Using studied accurate results data and proven methods without allowing profit to dictate success. We MUST honestly assess and study further those that rely on this for long-term treatment with a transparent risk versus benefit analysis. We cannot allow profits to trump patient safety any longer in this country.- Immediately reduce barriers to buprenorphine with mandatory requirement of physician counseling and monitoring.
- What it’s like to be on Vivitrol.
- Provide immediate access to naltrexone shots, pellets and/or implants.
- Other methods as transparent studies and science are developed to be accessible.
- ALTERNATIVE AND HOLISTIC TREATMENTS
We must look at alternative approaches to treatment. Atypical treatments such as Ibogaine approaches should NEVER be discounted simply because they’re unusual. We must allocate the resources for transparent scientific studies. - TREATMENT IN COUNTY JAILS
Study the need for treatment in county jails from the point of incarceration through discharge and aftercare. The SBIRT assessment must be utilized and included in the pre-sentence report. This is paramount to success and encompasses medical care into an offender’s right to physical and mental health care. We can NOT arrest our way out of this problem without treating the AMA defined disease of addiction. In counties where drug overdoses have skyrocketed, so has the county jail population and published recidivism rates. This is not effective, and without a minimum of 12-Step meetings in county jails, it is only perpetuating the stigma while exacerbating the problem.- McGreevey: Addicts need treatment more than jail. http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2014/03/mcgreevey_addicts_need_treatment_more_than_jail_opinion.html
- PRISON (State and Federal) TREATMENT
Mandatory addiction and mental health treatment in both state and federal prisons included as an incentive and part of sentence reduction. We must also look at probation issues and crossing state lines for treatment. - EXPAND DRUG COURTS
We must use a common sense approach to open up drug courts to more offenders. All jurisdictions MUST have operating drug courts. Crime analysis combined with judicial and prosecutorial discretion. More people must be allowed to access drug courts and more areas. - STUDENT PEER-TO-PEER PROGRAMS
School-based peer-to-peer programs are effective. We need to focus on our youth and their fragile developing brains that drugs, both legal and illegal, are harmfully damaging. “Don’t do drugs” to mentor other youth, highlighting what works not only what doesn’t. - EDUCATE THE EDUCATORS
We urgently must improve the illicit drug and legal prescription addiction recognition and reporting protocols for educators by eliminating any hindrance for school staff to refer students that might be under the parental radar. We cannot rely on teachers to recognize something we have failed to educate them with.- 75% of High School Heroin Users Started with Prescription Drugs. http://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2015/12/01/from-popping-pills-to-using-heroin-nyu-study-finds-three-quarters-of-high-school-heroin-users-started-with-prescription-opioids.html
- RECOVERY HIGH SCHOOLS
We must immediately change the structure of student enrollment, such that it recognizes the needs of young people suffering from the neuro-biological disease of addiction.- The ADA Act 1990: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became a law in 1990. The ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public. https://adata.org/factsheet/ADA-overview
- Association of Recovery Schools (ARS)
- In order to provide the best possible education and recovery support services to every student, the ARS assists in the creation, development, maintenance, and growth of recovery schools through the following easily-accessible services:
- Training and consultation to meet the needs of currently operating schools and emerging schools, including: One-on-one mentorship with a recovery school expert.
- Access to the ARS network of recovery schools.
- Curricular, behavior management, enrollment, community engagement, therapeutic and professional development resources.
- Charter application guidance.
- A nationally-recognized and quality accreditation process.
- Inclusion in national advocacy efforts in addition to equipping members to respond to local issues.
- Investments in data collection to create best-in-class training and resources for the recovery school community
- Recovery schools save teen addicts, so why aren’t they everywhere? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/recovery-high-schools-teen-addicts_us_561eb212e4b050c6c4a408ee
- Recovery high schools: getting an Education and Learning to Stay Clean and Sober. http://www.socialworktoday.com/archive/051815p18.shtml
- A Descriptive Study of School Programs and Students https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2629137
- COLLEGIATE RECOVERY PROGRAMS on EVERY COLLEGE CAMPUS
Recovery programs and services for college students are critical. One out of three college students drop out of college their freshman year and this is mostly due to alcohol and drugs. We must assist young adults with recovery in the most important educational time of their lives, and recovery programs in colleges are critical.- Life Of Purpose: http://www.lifeofpurposetreatment.com/
- “No one should have to choose between recovery and education”
- FEDERAL PRESCRIPTION DRUG MONITORING PROGRAM (PDMP)
Prescribed controlled substance education and use of the PDMP (Prescription Drug Monitoring Program) MUST be linked to the DEA registration with urgent ramifications for non-compliance. Taking full advantage of the inherent and data proven, morbidity and mortality reducing outcomes of the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. Linking this to the DEA eliminates the need for medical regulations by individual states. This is a national crisis and must be treated as such by the prescribing community.- Resources to immediately implement state-of-the-art technology to detect and deter prescription drug addiction. This must be real-time reporting with intestate sharing of prescription drug data.
- Access and Registration Information. https://namsdl.org/
- States that require doctors and/or dispensers to access PMP database in certain circumstances. https://namsdl.org/
- ELECTRONIC SCRIPT PADS
Eliminating prescription pads is critical in removing the ability for fraud. We need to move completely to an “Electronic Prescription Orders Program,” allowing electronic scripts as a proven safer and more secure method directly from the doctor to the dispenser.- The regulations provide pharmacies, hospitals, and practitioners with the ability to use modern technology for controlled substance prescriptions while maintaining the closed system of controls on controlled substances.
- Doctors in New York State will be required to write all prescriptions electronically and transmit them directly to the pharmacy under a new law that takes effect this Sunday, March 27 – https://southoldlocal.com/2016/03/22/no-paper-scripts-doctors-required-send-prescriptions-electronically-pharmacies-starting-next-week
- BEST PRACTICES PRESCRIBING GUIDELINES for ALL CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES, NOT JUST OPIATES
We absolutely must establish standards and best practices for managing pain and support the CDC efforts to improve “Opiate Prescribing Guidelines”. We need transparency and efficacy at the FDA. No longer can we accept high volumes of addictive opiates to be prescribed to our citizens, particularly, our youth. We must look at all providers across all specialties. This is about “controlling” controlled substances in EVRY instance and regardless of the patient diagnosis.
a. Medical standards of practice currently vary state to state because “medicine” is regulated by each state individually and not by the federal government. Therefore we must immediately demand and require that all controlled substance prescribers participate in mandated “transparent” education.- Broader strategies urged to counter painkiller over-prescribing. https://www.medpagetoday.com/PainManagement/PainManagement/55272?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2015-12-17&eun=g877818d0r
- Dentists, please visit https://www.clickondetroit.com/news.
- Transparency only policy.
- Industry-funded trials up 43% as NIH-funded trials drop 24%. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/856029?nlid=93763_2981&src=wnl_edit_dail&uac=229211BJ&impID=923412&faf=1
- ALL 3rd party payers must come to the table, as the controlled substance over-prescribing epidemic crosses all patients and payers.
- Government: workers comp/tricare/medicare/medicaid.
- Opiate prescribing plan lacks guidance on workers comp issues. http://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20151217/NEWS08/151219838/opioid-prescribing-plan-lacks-guidance-on-workers-comp-issues
- America’s painkiller epidemic grips the workplace. http://www.cnbc.com/2015/12/15/80-percent-of-workplaces-face-this-drug-scourge.html
- Distribution of opiate by different types of medicare prescribers: http://archinte.jamanetwork.com
- Wide disparity in opiate doses in veteran overdoses. http://www.painnewsnetwork.org/stories/2016/2/1/study-finds-wide-disparity-in-veteran-overdoses
- Benzodiazepines: Sedative-related overdoses on the rise. Starrels and colleagues used data that tracks drug prescriptions and drug overdoses. They found the number of adults who used benzodiazepines rose from 8.1 million prescriptions in 1996, to 13.5 million in 2013, a 67% increase. The quantity of filled prescriptions more than doubled during that period. https://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/opioids/benzodiazepines-opioids
- Adderall: Nonmedical use of adderall on the rise among young adults. Nonmedical use of adderall, a medication used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a 67% increase among young adults between 2006 and 2011 a new study finds.
https://hub.jhu.edu/2016/02/16/adderall-abuse-rising-young-adults/ - Kids on Anti-depressants: The number of children prescribed antidepressants to combat suicidal thoughts has soared in the past decade despite guidelines saying that their use should be limited.
- MEDICAL/DENTAL PROVIDER/STUDENT EDUCATION LAWS – Link to DEA License
We need to offer mandatory continuing education for all health care professionals to stay abreast of changing trends and/or medical advancements in substance use disorder treatment and controlled substance prescribing. This must be done in partnership with the state’s medical schools to establish a continuing education program ensuring doctors and other substance use disorder treatment professionals possess the most current and valid information on pain management, controlled substance prescribing, opiate misuse/abuse, and suicide prevention.- AMA
- How to prevent opiate abuse: Training and education. http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/advocacy/topics/preventing-opioid-abuse/opioid-abuse-resource-guide.page
- Stop the stigma and expand access to comprehensive treatment. http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/advocacy/topics/preventing-opioid-abuse/stigma-of-substance-use-disorder.page
- Steps physicians can take: http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/advocacy/topics/preventing-opioid-abuse/stigma-of-substance-use-disorder.page
- Medical/nursing/pharmacy schools AND all allied health care related professions.
- Transparent mandatory substance use disorder training, addiction training and controlled substance prescribing training
- ADA
- 12 steps narcotic prescribers can take NOW:
- Transparent education of prescribers and community of ADF’s with emphasis on the fact that ADF’s DO NOT mitigate risks of addiction. We must send a very clear message that “abuse” is NOT required for becoming addicted. Taken as prescribed leads to narcotic dependency, addiction, and overdose.
- Abuse-deterrent oxycontin won’t solve U.S opioid epidemic. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/841544
- AMA
- GOOD SAMARITAN LAWS
Expansion and increased community awareness through better educational programs on the “Overdose Protection Act”. This law protects users from prosecution for calling 911 to save the life of another user. Instituting a Federal Good Samaritan Law, so that every state protects those that contact 911 to save the life of an overdose victim, is the most expedient way to this means.- Does your state have key laws to save lives from overdoses? More than half of states have enacted a naloxone access law or an overdose good Samaritan law, but more work remains. http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/advocacy/topics/preventing-opioid-abuse/increase-naloxone-access.page
- RESCUE DRUG LAWS
Naloxone MUST be readily available not only to law enforcement officers, but to every family that is dealing with a user in the grips of legal opiates or heroin addiction, in every school and in every jail. This will immediately save lives.- McGreevey: Addicts need treatment more than jail. (Opinion.)
- New nasal FDA approved: https://www.fda.gov/
- CVS “over-the-counter” is a MUST in every state.
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania: Heroin overdose drug naloxone to be provided free to all PA public schools. http://fox43.com/2016/02/01/heroin-overdose-drug-naloxone-to-be-provided-free-to-all-pa-public-schools/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_WPMT_FOX43
- New York: Naloxone being made available over the counter in NYC. http://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/naloxone-being-made-available-over-the-counter-in-nyc-1.11203265
- AMA: Increasing access to naloxone: help save lives from opioid overdose. http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/advocacy/topics/preventing-opioid-abuse/increase-naloxone-access.page
- CIVIL PROTECTION OF ADDICTS
We MUST consider laws that allow medical and law enforcement personnel to consider an opioid drug poisoning survival victim as a danger to themselves and others like we do those who have attempted suicide – mental health parity. Without that, drug poisoning victims are released without intervention. ALL drug poisonings MUST be treated by one standard of care, regardless if legal or illegal drug, including involuntary commitment.- Examples: Baker Act/Marchman Act/Section 35.
- Acts/Sections to be “usable” and “applicable” by all with no financial barriers.
- Can probation be transferred across state lines? http://www.thelawman.net/blog/2015/11/can-probation-be-transferred-across-state-lines—iii.shtm
- LAWS TO FIGHT DISTRIBUTION
Improve weight to dosage laws by perhaps lowering the weight where criminal justice consequences attach with adequate penalties that are appropriate for high volume drug dealers. The amount of heroin it takes to warrant serious criminal penalties is much greater per dosage than other drugs. There needs to be some sort of deterrence to dealing heroin in suburban and rural America as well as urban America. - FINANCIAL INCENTIVES REMOVED FOR PRESCRIBING AND DIRECT MARKETING OF PHARMACEUTICALS
- Remove pharmaceutical advertisements from TV/Cable/Media.
- AMA calls for ban on direct to consumer advertising of prescription drugs and medical devices. http://www.ama-assn.org
- Reader poll: Should direct-to-consumer drug ads be banned? https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/854745?nlid=91805_2981&src=wnl_edit_dail&uac=229211BJ&impID=895231&faf=1
- Polypharmacy medicare: “five or more different prescriptions.” http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/seniors-are-given-so-many-drugs-its-madness/article29061583/
- Re-evaluate the medicare physician/ER visit billing guidelines and remove the medical decision/risk making incentive to write a script during a patient visit.
- Truth and Trust: Virtually everything we know about drugs is what the companies have chosen to tell us and our doctors. The reason patients trust their medicine is that they extrapolate the trust they have in their doctors into the medicines they prescribe. http://healthimpactnews.com/2015/dr-peter-gotzsche-exposes-big-pharma-as-organized-crime/
- Top Billing: Meet the doctors who charge medicare top dollar for office visits. https://www.propublica.org/article/billing-to-the-max-docs-charge-medicare-top-rate-for-office-visits
- AMA CPT4 Physician Billing Codes: Level 4: MODERATE COMPLEXITY MEDICAL DECISION MAKING/RISK
- Remove pharmaceutical advertisements from TV/Cable/Media.
- INSTITUTE TRANSPARENT COMMISSION TO STUDY SCHEDULE III & IV DRUGS
- Renewed outlook with new evidence based data of dependence, addiction, misuse and/or abuse.
- Example: Benzodiazepines, Valium, Darvon, Ativan, Xanax, Soma
- Renewed outlook with new evidence based data of dependence, addiction, misuse and/or abuse.
- “SMART” APPROCHES TO MARIJUANA LEGISLATION NATIONWIDE
- DO NOT legalize marijuana for recreational purposes.
- Reverse state laws that have countered this federal statute.
- Remove marijuana from schedule 1 to schedule 2 and push the FDA to proactively and aggressively study the medicinal effects of THC and CBD.
- Develop SMART approaches to medicinal marijuana that does NOT allow widespread availability which increases adolescent use of this drug.
- “BAN THE BOX”
Remove barriers that hinder those in recovery with addiction records from entering into and maintain recovery.- Ban the box: U.S. cities, counties, and states adopt fair hiring policies. http://www.nelp.org/publication/ban-the-box-fair-chance-hiring-state-and-local-guide/
- Palm Beach County: ‘bans the box’ revealing past crimes on job applications. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/fl-pbc-ban-the-box-20151119-story.html
- Miami-Dade County: Miami-Dade removes criminal history question from county job applications. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article38002746.html
- Ban the box: U.S. cities, counties, and states adopt fair hiring policies. http://www.nelp.org/publication/ban-the-box-fair-chance-hiring-state-and-local-guide/
- MANDATORY DRUG TESTING IN SCHOOLS
- Beginning in Middle School.
- Non-punitive responses to positive screens .
- The effectiveness of mandatory-random student drug testing.
- Students involved in extracurricular activities and subject to in-school drug testing reported less substance use than comparable students in high schools without drug testing, according to a new evaluation released today by the Institute of Education Sciences. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/20104025/
Real Voices for Change
Real-life interviews about addiction from real people
SHARE WITH YOUR COMMUNITY
…whether it’s a screening at a University, Church, Treatment Center, Recovery Community Center – or even your home – we offer the Public Performance Rights you’ll need. If you have any questions please contact us below and we will answer your questions to help guide you for the screening event.
Helpful information - Showing An American Epidemic in your community
Whether you’re hosting a Community Screening or Theatrical Screening, the following information is a guide to hosting a great event!
- The more people the better! Don’t stop promoting until just hours before your screening. Most people decide to attend a movie at the last minute, so don’t get discouraged if your tickets sold or reservation numbers don’t spike until just days before the event.
- Collaboration is key! Filling a big theater or public event at a center or school is not easy; it takes a lot of partners, friends, and sponsors. Make sure you involve all sectors of your community and do this early and often.
- Make it an event, not just a screening! We strongly encourage you to use this opportunity to convene your community as a call to action. This is more than awareness, this should change the conversation. Gather the leaders of your community sectors and get everyone involved. Decide who will be involved. Decide about a panel discussion and a Q & A after the film.
- Visit the venue and meet with the theater or building manager for a walk-through ahead of time.
Here are the things to be ready to talk to them about:
- Ask about the availability of tables to set up for registration and to display literature before and after your screening. Invite vendors.
- For pre and post film remarks request a microphone, podium and chairs.
- For post-film discussions, request that the house lights be turned back on so that the audience gets prepared for the all-important discussion instead of getting up and leaving. You can allow the credits to play out in the background as you begin the discussion.
- Ask them if you can start the film 10 minutes later than the programmed time. People are always late!
- Make sure to ask about film signage and marque placement to steer your attendees to the right theater upon arrival.
- Discuss day of ticketing logistics. If you’re doing a community screening and are selling tickets at the door, be prepared with change, receipts and if possible, a way to accept credit cards for ticket sales.
- Recruit volunteers to assist with greeting people, signing up people and coordinating your event.
Hosting a community event with a Church or group such as a 12-Step fellowship or Coalition should be part of an overall action plan on fighting this epidemic. The viewing rights are for an event.
Group viewing rights such as to be shown regularly or occasionally is covered under this event fee. By purchasing the public viewing rights here, the purchaser has the right to show this film multiple times to groups that meet regularly.
To host an event contact us at:
Phone 856-691-6676 or 609-774-6501
E-mail:
Want to have Michael DeLeon speak at your organization or event? Email us to find out more!
$49
HOST A COMMUNITY OR GROUP SCREENING EVENT
$199
HOST A THEATRICAL SCREENING EVENT
Use PayPal to purchase the viewing rights for a screening event. The certificate for rights will be e-mailed to you.