Ideal Option, an outpatient addiction clinic with a location here in Bend, has released a new report that sheds some light on the Oregon opioid crisis. Ideal Option was founded in 2012 and has since helped more than 93,000 patients through a network of 80+ office-based medication-assisted treatment (MAT) clinics across nine states. One of their main issues now is the prevalence of fentanyl, an opioid that, while commonly used in medical circumstances for moderate to severe pain, can be deadly when used recreationally or even accidentally.
The report considers 1,500 Oregon patients and finds that while fentanyl has been present in a number of drugs purchased off the street (meth, heroine, Xanax, Adderall, marijuana, etc…) the type, or analog, of fentanyl is one that is typically much less potent; sometimes, only around 30 percent as potent as medical-grade fentanyl.
According to Rhonda Woodside, an advanced registered nurse practitioner with Ideal Option who has more than 30 years under her belt helping victims of addiction, this news has both pros and cons.
The obvious pro is a lower rate of overdoses, and as a result, fewer deaths. The medical-grade fentanyl found in hospitals can be deadly, even in extremely small doses. Woodside mentioned that “the amount of fentanyl you could balance on the tip of your pencil” can be deadly. Now with lower potency, fewer lives are being lost.
However, Woodside also mentioned that the lower potency could be used to get more people addicted, even unknowingly. She has reported people coming into her Ideal Option clinic who are unaware that they have even ingested fentanyl. With a substance as addictive as this one, sometimes all it takes to form an addiction is one accident.
Josh Lair, the senior director of community development at Ideal Option, mentioned another side effect of the differing potency. The opioid crisis finally met the public eye when overdoses became much more common. While fewer deaths is absolutely a fortunate thing, it also takes off the media attention. Now that people don’t hear about the overdoses as often, there is this idea that the opioid crisis is over, or at least, not a problem anymore.
According to Lair and Woodside, that is a dangerous misconception. While fentanyl in Oregon is now, on average, less potent and less deadly, it is still absolutely a substance that ravages Oregon communities and destroys lives.
Luckily, Ideal Option has found resounding success with their MAT programs. That same report of 1,500 Oregon patients shows a staggering 93 percent reduction in opioid use, with an 85 percent reduction in overall stimulant use. Overall, their program shows a 95 percent success rate for long-term opioid abstinence. This MAT program factors in multiple facets of a patient’s life, and above all else, it treats addiction like a disease, not a crime. According to Ideal Option, “In all the communities it serves, Ideal Option collaborates with existing stakeholders and providers to improve the continuum of care. This approach includes partnerships with emergency rooms and county jail systems, where individuals with substance use disorder often appear, as well as collaborating with numerous support agencies and municipal programs addressing social needs such as housing, mental health and nutrition support.”
With a compassionate and human-forward philosophy, Ideal Option has found great success. Woodside said that one of the biggest reasons people fall into addiction in the first place is due to mental health reasons, and societal factors. Many addicts first started with family members like parents or siblings, while many others have undiagnosed depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and other mental health issues.
“We all have a vice, of some sort,” Woodside said. “For most of us, that vice is not something that will put us in prison and put a stigma on us that will get us mistreated by everyone, from family and friends to potential professional connections and even medical practitioners. We’ve seen patients who would literally rather risk dying, than get treatment only to be labeled a junky, a derelict, or a criminal.”
Lair himself is living proof that addiction recovery takes compassion and humanity. Now 15 years sober, Lair had once served prison time due to his issues with substances. Now, he has multiple master’s degrees and he is currently working on his PhD while helping others beat their own addictions.
This sentiment of compassion is proven to be successful through a number of organizations and studies, including this report from Ideal Option. Addictions and dependencies are, unfortunately, normal human behavior, when humans are put through a number of traumatic factors, combined with access to a vice. With mental health support, peer support and housing connections, Ideal Option leads the path in Oregon by getting addicts back on their feet, back into work and even reconnecting with their families.
Recovery is possible and it’s never too late to get your life back together. Help is there, and Ideal Option is there to provide it.
