The Opioid Epidemic has been raging for decades and the pandemic saw a large increase in overdose deaths in 2020. More people have died in this epidemic than the combination of all the war deaths since 1900. Traditional Medicine has finally slowed down prescribing opioid pain medicines but the death rates continue to climb. Why is that? I think it is because Addiction is a chronic illness and doesn't go away when someone stops taking pain medicine or heroin. We need to ask certain questions before receiving medications that can be addictive. We need to learn about high risk populations and how stress fits in. Stress can shift our brain and change how we manage unhealthy misuse of medications. Family and friends are still the most common source for unprescribed pain medicine. We need to learn how to keep our leftover pills safe. Family denial prevents discussions that can mediate risky behavior patterns. We can all get naloxone from our pharmacies and learn how to use it to save our family members if they overdose with pain medications. These are all teaching points in the course Introduction to Addiction.
Instructor Jeff Goldsmith, MD, DFASAM
Jeff is an addiction medicine physician who ran an addiction fellowship for 20 years in Ohio.
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Dates: October 13, 1:00 - 2:30 PM, 5 wks
This class is open to all members of Maine's Senior Colleges.