Asheville Summit Addresses The Epidemic Of Heroin Addiction And Opioid Drug Abuse

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Today, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina hosted a conference in Asheville to address the growing threat of heroin addiction and opioid drug abuse in the western part of the district.  The conference was the first-ever held in the area and was co-sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office, the Asheville Police Department and Smoky Mountain LME/MCO, a local management entity/managed care organization. 

Each year more than 46,000 people in the U.S. die from a drug overdose and half of those deaths are related to opioid abuse, including prescription pain medication. People who take prescription painkillers, which are prescribed by a physician, can become addicted with just one prescription. Most first-time abusers of painkillers obtain them from a friend or relative.  A 2014 national survey reported an estimated 1.4 million people in the United States abused a prescription pain killer for the first time that year.  In the 1960’s, more than 80% of opioid abusers began using heroin first.  In the 2000’s, 75% of opioid abusers started with prescription opioids.  More than 10 million people in the United States, age 12 and older, reported non-medical use of prescription opiates in 2014.

“Heroin addiction and opioid drug abuse are public health threats we must tackle head on,” stated U.S. Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose, who delivered opening remarks this morning.  “As heroin is quickly becoming the number one cause of overdose deaths in the area, the consequences of opioid drug abuse are taking a tremendous toll on our communities.  Today’s summit puts a spotlight on the devastating impact of heroin and opioid addiction and the importance of combining our resources to address this public health crisis, focusing on awareness, prevention, treatment and developing a coordinated community response to this epidemic.”

Approximately 200 professionals from the fields of law enforcement, medicine, substance abuse and treatment, as well as interested community members attended the summit, held on the campus of the University of North Carolina in Asheville.  Speakers from federal and local law enforcement agencies, medical experts and representatives of community organizations presented on a broad range of topics including: the alarming rise in heroin and opioid addiction; heroin trafficking trends and law enforcement efforts to stem the flow of opiates; prevention and medical treatment; and ways community organizations can support combating opioid addiction in western North Carolina and promote second chances for individuals in recovery.  Audience members also heard a first-hand account from a parent’s perspective on dealing with the death of a child from heroin overdose and the impact of the loss on the family. 

U.S. Attorney Rose thanked the DEA, the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office, the Asheville Police Department and Smoky Mountain LME/MCO for their co-sponsorship and emphasized importance of the conference stating that, “Today’s summit is not a one-time event.  It is the beginning of a focused collaboration between law enforcement, the healthcare field and our community partners to confront heroin addiction and opioid drug abuse, address the problem in real and meaningful ways, and develop a systematic response to this dangerous epidemic.”