Indiana's agriculture community is seeking to raise awareness regarding the growing problem of opioid abuse.
A symposium on Jan. 5 at the Boone County Fairgrounds in Lebanon will help the public understand the impact of opioid addiction on business economics, community services, law enforcement and the overall health of Indiana's rural population. Organizers hope the symposium (see related article on this page) is the start of a conversation about ways to attack the problem.
Evidence is mounting that opioid addiction is a growing problem.
In October, President Trump declared opioid abuse to be a national health emergency. In Indiana, Gov. Eric Holcomb says the misuse of prescription pain killers, heroin and other opiate-related drugs has become an epidemic.
A recent Indiana University Kelley School of Business estimates the annual economic cost of the epidemic at more than $1 billion in Indiana.
In a letter to the Indianapolis Star in September, Holcomb stated that more people died from drug overdoses in the U.S. last year (over 64,000) than the total number of Americans killed in the Vietnam War (58,220).
In Indiana, opioid overdose deaths jumped 52 percent between 2015 and 2016, and have more than doubled in the last three years. Over the same period, drug-related arrests by Indiana State Police increased by more than 40 percent.
The sharp rise in opioid-related deaths isn't confined to large cities and urban areas. Rural areas, too, are experiencing a sharp rise in drug woes. Recently, the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Farmers Union partnered to sponsor a survey showing the impact that opioids have on farmers.
The survey, as reported in last week's issue of the Exchange, indicates that three in four farmers have been directly impacted by opioid abuse, compared to just under half of rural Americans at large. Furthermore, the survey suggested that opioids are easy to access in farming communities, while treatment and services are scant. A lack of information and negative stigma associated with drug abuse exacerbate those problems.
State Sen. Jim Merritt (R-Indianapolis), reacting to President Trump's declaration in October, said the opioid issue "has impacted every household in our state and nation in one way or another."
Merritt is one of the speakers who will take part in the Jan. 5 symposium in Lebanon. He will join others with expertise in law enforcement, health and addiction treatment, education and other fields, to look at "what works" and how communities can reverse this trend.
Also speaking will be Dan Krouse, general manager of Midwest Poultry Services, based in Mentone.
Interviewed by the Exchange, Krouse said that opioid abuse is accelerating in Indiana, and is affecting workers everywhere. He says the problem in Indiana is outpacing the national average. Some reasons include easy access and low cost.
Krouse said he took an interest in this topic after one of his employees died of an overdose in 2015.
He urges greater awareness of the problem. Employees who are addicted to opioids or heroin will show obvious signs, such as arriving late to work, calling in sick, falling asleep at work (even while standing) and declining work performance.
Midwest Poultry employs roughly 500 people in Indiana and another 80 in Illinois.
Krouse echoed Merritt's observation, that opioid abuse is affecting people from all walks of life.
Prior to 2006, Indiana trailed the national average in drug poisonings, according to the Center for Disease Control. However, after 2006, Indiana moved ahead of the national average and ranked 17th in 2015.
Statistics from the CDC show that, in 2015, there were 19.49 drug poisoning deaths in Indiana per 100,000 people, while the national death rate was 16.29 per 100,000. In 2017, the mortality rate in Indiana is projected at 25.30, while the national rate is 20.24.
"This is a very serious problem that affects Indiana more than other parts of the country," Krouse said.
Opioids include natural forms such as Codeine and Morphine, semi-synthetic opioids such as heroin and Oxycodone, and synthetic opioids such as Meperidine, Fentanyl and Methadone. These pills are often prescribed by doctors for pain relief, but due to their highly addictive nature, patients continue to use them long after their prescription has expired.
That was the case with Brandon Callahan of rural Nineveh, Ind. His first experience with pain killers came after a high school football injury. His doctor prescribed the pills to reduce the pain from a broken leg. He was able to recover from the injury and return to a normal life. But then he was injured again and turned to opioids for relief.
He eventually became addicted and started stealing money to pay for the habit. At age 17, he was introduced to heroin, and age 19 was arrested for distribution and possession of narcotics. He served 17 months in jail for that conviction, but he said drug addiction continued to push him toward illegal activity.
Now 23, Callahan has been in and out of several treatment centers, the last of which was Choices Recovery in South Bend. He "graduated" last Friday and is now residing at what's known as a sober living center in the Chicago area. He consented to having the details of his story shared with Exchange readers.
Callahan said he grew up in farm country, where pain killers were easy to acquire. However, as opioid awareness has increased, physicians have begun limiting the amount of pain pills they prescribe. Callahan said that many addicts turn to heroin, which is about one-third the price of pain killers like Oxycodon.
Brandon Adolf, executive director of Choices Recovery, said the drug epidemic is affecting all social and economic classes. Many people may have a mental image of a homeless person when they think of a drug addict, but Adolf said, "that's not the case anymore."
Ninety percent of addicts, Adolf said, begin their downward spiral by taking prescribed medications. In such cases, the patients take the drugs with a clear conscience but aren't able to recognize when their need for pills has become an addiction. Adolf said this is one reason why opioids are a big problem in America's heartland.
Brandon Callahan, the recovering addict, was asked what words of advice he has for Exchange readers. He said that recovery is possible, though it may seem hopeless at first. And for everyone who has pain medications in their possession, he urged them to lock up the medicine cabinet or destroy any leftover pills. He said this removes the chance that the pills will be stolen and misused.