Join the drug war
The pretty 19-year-old girl and her mother came to Dr. Joseph Abate at Dirne Clinic for help. The girl admitted that she was taking 16 oxycontin tablets a day - a stunning sum - and couldn't stop. Dr. Abate quickly did the math in his head and determined that the girl was spending about $500 a day for the prescription pills. And he asked her if he could inquire how she raised that kind of money.
"As a tear rolls down her face she says, 'No, you can't,'" Dr. Abate recalled Wednesday night in opening the second annual Pain Summit with a tale of personal heartache. When it comes to pain, there are far too many stories like that right here in North Idaho.
As Maureen Dolan's story in today's Press shows, pockets of professionals are actually doing something about one of the region's - and the nation's - most insidious problems. With help from his friends, Dr. Abate has created a strong foundation for battling drug abuse in our region, starting with much greater understanding of addiction's root causes and dramatic impact on the brain, the body, the family and even the community.
But this, he'll admit, is only a starting point; a critically important one, but only an early step in a longer march. With his group of equally impressive colleagues, Dr. Abate hopes to expand the Pain Summit next year, perhaps making it more accessible to the general public - and probing more deeply possible ways the community can gain the upper hand in more areas of this multi-pronged plight.
In the meantime, there is something you can do. Go to your medicine cabinet or wherever you keep your prescription meds and set aside somewhere safe for all those you don't need - even those you think you might want or need later. It hardly matters what they are; law enforcement and medical professionals say a vast array of prescription drugs is being stolen for consumption or for sale, leading not just to a dramatically increasing rate of destroyed lives, but of skyrocketing property crimes in the area, too.
"Drugs and crime - they're brother and sister, 24/7," Sgt. Mark Todd of the Coeur d'Alene Police said Wednesday night.
On Chief Wayne Longo's initiative, the CDA PD became the first in the state to have citizens turn in their unused prescription meds. Don't flush them down the toilet; that contaminates the water and creates other problems. Simply turn in your unused drugs to the Coeur d'Alene Police Department at 3818 Schreiber Way. Call 769-2320 or 769-2260 for directions or for more information.
The Press deeply appreciates the tremendous work being done by many on this project, particularly Dr. Abate, Chief Longo, Judge John Mitchell, Dr. David Wait, Dr. Scott Magnuson and the affable, unflappable Bat Masterson from Kootenai Health. We hope you'll do your part in this most important quest.