Gov. Asa Hutchinson: Opioid abuse, addiction a 'serious problem' in Arkansas

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• Gov. Asa Hutchinson: Opioid abuse, addiction a 'serious problem' in Arkansas. But please do not tell a half truth. There are not enough prescription opoids around to create an Opoid Epidemic, unless you want to clearly target the county China who is killing our citizens. The Government reports, DEA and other going back as far as 2013 are on this site. Its a covert war and maybe America has become to weak to fight the communist nation who is causing this and the rich and powerful monopolizing on this tragedy.

SOURCE:
https://katv.com/news/political/arkansa ... -hall?fbcl

LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and news personality Eric Bolling, along with drug experts from around the country, discussed the opioid crisis Tuesday in a town hall event hosted by KATV Channel 7 News.

• "Opioid addiction, opioid abuse is a serious problem in Arkansas," Hutchinson said.

Just not true its Chinese Fentanyl and Carfentanil (search the internet and YouTube yourself get the truth)

• There were nearly 115 opioid prescriptions per 100 people in Arkansas in 2016, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It was the second-highest opioid prescription rate in the country.

Hutchinson, who took office in 2015, said the state has started requiring physicians to check if a patient has been visiting multiple doctors to obtain opioid prescriptions. Over-prescribing has fallen by 12 percent over the past four years, he said.

"The over-prescribing is a serious problem by physicians and they have turned it around, they're being more cautious," Hutchinson said.

Huchinson said the state has also helped equip first responders with naloxone, the anti-overdose medication. The state has also started a program for people to safely dispose of prescription pills that have expired or are no longer needed.

Opioid overdoses accounted for more than 42,000 deaths in 2016, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The department declared a public health emergency in 2017.

You cannot be objective when something like this happens to you. Stop punishing the Chronic & Intractable Pain Patients

• Bolling's 19-year-old son died from an accidental overdose the same year. He said his son died after taking a Xanax pill that was laced with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that can be up to 100 times as strong as morphine. China is one of the main sources of fentanyl in the U.S., according to federal authorities.

An increasing number of fentanyl-related overdoses have been recorded in recent years across the country, including in Arkansas. According to Hutchinson, the former director of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration under president Ronald Reagan, criminal organizations bring fentanyl and other drugs into the U.S. through Mexico.

When asked what President Donald Trump could do to help Arkansas fight the opioid crisis, Hutchinson praised Trump's efforts to increase border security. But he said Arkansas needs help in other areas.

"Our drug task forces are very important and the funding for those have been cut," Hutchinson said.

Also participating in the discussion were Kirk Lane, Arkansas Drug Director; Mark Hayes, Director of the Arkansas Municipal League; psychiatrist Dr. Stephen Taylor and Liberty University professor David Jenkins, director of the school's addiction counseling program.