Steps to Reduce Kansas City Opioid Abuse
The country is starting to take steps to reduce the number of opioid overdoses. The company that makes OxyContin announced that they will no longer actively advertise the drug to reduce OxyContin use and addiction.
Both federal and state governments continue to work to fight drug epidemic. In a strong first step, the United States Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, has shut down some of the major websites on the dark web that were pushing opioids. However, the federal initiatives seem to focus more on advertising than actual addiction care.
In Kansas City, a local center received grant money to combat the opioid epidemic. The Missouri Department of Mental Health awarded Healing House a two-year grant of $320,000 to improve recovery services available through the Recovery Community Center for people struggling with opioid abuse.
Some of the services the center will provide include recovery housing, recovery coaching, telephone-based recovery services, recovery meetings, life skill groups, recovery management checkups, and other services focused on peer engagement. Three other organizations across Missouri also received grant money to improve resources for people struggling with opioid abuse.
Hopefully, these steps will curb the state’s epidemic, but it seems clear that larger initiatives on a national level will be crucial for real change.
