Experts: Solving heroin problem requires vigilance, coordination

If you're living in Columbus with a heroin addiction, there's help available.

Dr. Rizwan Khan -- a psychiatrist at the Bradley Center, affiliated with St. Francis Hospital -- works extensively with people addicted to the drug and other opioids.

Khan said he's currently working with about 30 patients a month through the center's in-patient and out-patient programs. But he said there needs to be less social stigma and more public awareness associated with addiction.

"The scientific research shows clearly that addiction is a brain disease," he said. "It's not like a moral failing, a character flaw or things like that, which are sort of the common stereotypes that people have about people with addiction. There are good effective treatments for it. And one of those is what's called medication-assisted therapy using medications like Suboxone and Methadone."

Khan and other local experts said heroin is making a comeback in Columbus, and it's important to address the problem before it's too late. Some said solving the problem will take a concerted effort by leaders throughout the community working together in the fight against drugs.

"One thing I think that we probably need to do that we don't do enough of is talk to each other more," Khan said. "If there was better coordination between local law enforcement, judges involved in the drug courts, and us health care providers, I think that would help so people that need treatment could be triaged in a better manner."

Among those concerned about the recent spike in local heroin addictions is Columbus Police Chief Ricky Boren, who said law enforcement is taking the threat seriously.

"I think you're seeing an active enforcement by the police department, especially the drug units, in following up on any information involving heroin," he said. "Anytime there's an illegal substance, we're interested, and we're going to pursue it if it's being sold in our community."

Seth Brown, the city's director of Crime Prevention, said his department is already involved in local anti-drug activities through local drug courts and other programs -- and heroin is just the latest drug on the list.

"Almost every program we work with comes with a drug component because that's big with juveniles that we're working with," he said. "I don't like to use the words, 'Say no to drugs,' because that's old, and it doesn't work, obviously. But each program deals with some aspect of it and how to resist those temptations."

Brown mentioned programs through the Pastoral Institute, Big Brothers Big Sisters and Teen Advisors as examples.

"But I would say as far as the biggest thing that we do for active drug issues would be our involvement with neighborhood associations and watches," he said, "because we encourage them to call a house if they feel like it may have some type of activity going on in it. And there are several houses that we've turned in to metro narcotics or the vice squad that have produced results as far as arrests and confiscating drugs."

Paul Morris, health services administrator at the Muscogee County Jail, said it will take more than law enforcement to get the drug problem under control. He's seen a steady stream of heroin addicts land in jail, and he believes the community is on the verge of a crisis.

"The law enforcement model by itself, in my opinion, has failed," he said. "The War on Drugs has continued to throw a huge amount of money at the law enforcement approach to create a legal barrier between the source and the consumer. But I think if you look at it objectively, you'll see that if the consumer is willing to pay then the source will make extraordinary effort to get the product -- heroin or cocaine or whatever it might be -- to the person that wants to consume it.

"In my mind, what needs to happen is an awareness in society of the inclination of an individual or people to do this and approach it from a medical model, a model of mental health and a public health model," he said, "sort of like if we thought we were going to have an epidemic of flu or the plague that might be a threat to a large portion of people. We would start to inoculate people, educate people, create intellectual and medical barriers."

Khan said drug addiction is a complicated condition that involves physical, psychological and socioeconomic factors. He said many of his patients also suffer from mental illness and need medical treatment, not incarceration.

Those who come to the Bradley Center for in-patient detoxification are admitted to the hospital and receive medication to help them with withdrawal. They also receive therapy during their stay, and an evaluation is done to determine what other social services might be needed.

"Detoxification length of stay is usually three to five days," Khan said.

"And then we basically link them up with community resources so they get ongoing treatment, which usually includes seeing a psychiatrist as well as a therapist and some type of support group like Narcotics Anonymous."

At the out-patient clinic, Khan uses Suboxone for medication-assisted treatment.

He said there also are at least three Methadone clinics in Columbus that provide services: Private Clinic, Georgia Therapy Associates and Metro Treatment Center.

Khan said there's also another medicine called Naltrexone, which is injected monthly to block the effects of opioids, and another drug called Naloxone that's used to reverse drug overdoses.

Khan said insurance parity is a problem for many addicts, which is a concern President Obama highlighted recently. He believes the United States can do much more to solve the problem of addiction, and that the War on Drugs has failed.

"Medications like Suboxone and Methadone have been shown to reduce illicit drug use, reduce criminal activity and recidivism rates in jails," he said. "And a lot of our mentally ill and people with addictions are languishing in jails and there's this sort of revolving door that they can't seem to get out of.

"In countries like Sweden, they offer free Methadone to anyone with a heroin addiction and they found that their rate of overdoses has gone down, criminal activity has gone down, and people are more productive and they live quality lives."

Alva James-Johnson, 706-571-8521. Reach her on Facebook at AlvaJamesJohnsonLedger

This story was originally published October 28, 2015 at 10:58 PM with the headline "Experts: Solving heroin problem requires vigilance, coordination ."