Arizona’s Efforts to Stem the Tide of Addiction

Drug addiction is prevalent everywhere. Like any other disease, it does not discriminate between age, race, location, socioeconomic status, religious views, or any other label. Drug addiction is a global disease that is coming more and more to light with the invention of modern technology and the increased awareness we have for it.

Many schools in the United States have D.A.R.E weeks, where they invite law enforcement officers to discuss the dangers of drugs, and encourage children to “Just say no”. The children spend the week dressing up in various colors and crazy hair and sock combos and color in worksheets highlighting the importance of saying no to peer pressure. But are these programs really doing any good? Is just saying no to drugs and peer pressure enough to really stem the ever-growing tide of drug addiction we see in our society?

As more information regarding the science behind addiction becomes known, the more and more ridiculous campaigns, such as the Just Say No campaign, seem to be. Addiction is a disease of the brain; it affects certain chemicals that make it difficult to quit, and can lead to people giving up almost everything in their life to chase their next high. Some can get addicted as young as 5 or 6; others may become addicted well into their adult years. Whether it be from peer pressure, or a prescription from a doctor that quickly goes downhill, addiction will claim whoever it can, whenever it can.

So, what are some ways that we, as a society, can potentially help people steer clear of abusing mind-altering substances? Arizona passed a bill passed that states that every doctor licensed to prescribe Schedule II, III and IV prescription drugs must put not only the prescription, but also to who and when the drugs were prescribed to the patient, and to check said database before prescribing these drugs to any of their patients.

The hope with this requirement is to make it more difficult for people with a substance abuse problem to doctor shop, where one goes to multiple doctors to get multiple prescriptions for pills.

Arizona State University is also making waves in trying to help people learn more about substance abuse. Students at ASU teamed up in 2015 to film a documentary on the dangers of Heroin, called “Hooked: Tracking Heroin’s Hold on Arizona”, which won many awards, including the region’s top Emmy. They recently followed up with a new feature, titled “Hooked Rx”, regarding the rising issue of prescription Opioid abuse. The students are hoping that through researching and putting this information out to the public, that it will not only inform the public on the dangers of substance abuse, but also to help them recognize that anyone is susceptible to becoming addicted.

ASU isn’t stopping just there though; students, in conjunction with Pulitzer winner and Knight Chair holder of Journalism at ASU, Steve Doig, are analyzing information regarding drug overdoses in Arizona and searching for patterns regarding when and where drug abuse starts. Another group of students are creating a new website called Hooked RX to help people get the information they need about addiction treatment.

These projects focus on enlightening the populace on the dangers of drug abuse, beyond peer pressure or just saying no. They seek to learn, inform and help people gain a better understanding of the disease of addiction. This change in approach to how we talk about substance abuse, along with the law allowing doctors to know if their patients are doctor shopping or not, is certainly a different approach from the old days of just saying no to peer pressure, and are now helping people come to terms with the reality of addiction. Will these new approaches to teaching about and talking about addiction help people in the long run to avoid the pitfalls substance abuse brings? It’s too early to tell right now, but it certainly seems to be a step in the right direction.