More can be done to fight opioid crisis

Marin County health officials have been in the forefront of efforts to stem the prescription of opioid pain relievers and deaths to which their abuse frequently leads.

Their initiatives made a difference, reducing the flow of prescriptions and saving lives.

But in 2019, the cases of opioid-abuse hospitalizations and overdose deaths rose to levels that caught the attention of the 2019-20 Marin County Civil Grand Jury, which recently released a report on its investigation and recommendations for further action that needs to be taken.

While lately most of the public’s focus has been on the coronavirus pandemic, Marin residents serving on the grand jury offered a sobering reminder that there continues to be other health threats.

While they credit the county with leading the creation of “robust prevention and treatment programs,” the jury is justifiably worried about the uptick in abuse cases and deaths seen in 2019, after years of progress in reducing both.

“Despite prevention efforts, the opioid problem in Marin has not gone away,” the jury writes in its report, “Opioid Misuse: Strengthening Marin County’s Response.” The jury reports that “opioid deaths of county residents in 2019 approached the high levels not seen since the end of the last decade.”

One of its recommendations should be easy — expanding the availability of naloxone, a widely used emergency drug that can save lives from overdoses.

The county, through its RxSafe Marin initiative, has already broadened the drug’s availability, providing it to first responders such as police and firefighters, as well as to family members of known abusers.

It has also worked on increasing medication-assisted treatment available in Marin, but the grand jury says the statistics show more needs to be done, noting the county lacks sufficient long-term residential treatment care for those who need aftercare and recovery.

The grand jury is also recommending the expansion of its “navigator” program, where someone counsels and assists those who wind up in the emergency room due to an overdose away from their addictive and dangerous behaviors.

The local civil grand jury often does a public service in shining the light of public attention on issues or problems that may not be well known, but are important to the community.

The 2019 statistics showcased in the jury’s report are good reason for the county and community medical-care providers to do more in addressing opioid abuse and overdose deaths.

They can be prevented by providing medical care providers the tools they need and by taking measures that limit access to such dangerous drugs.

There is no question, the county has done a lot in recent years to try to respond to a situation that was clearly out of control. The grand jury has shined the spotlight on the need to do more and effective measures that can make a difference — including saving lives.