By Ramón Castellblanch, PhD
The COVID-19 pandemic aggravated the opioid epidemic, both in terms of supply and demand. In terms of the supply, we took a terrible hit in the number of programs to fight it. As of September, their revenues were down by over 20%. With those losses, more than half of these programs were not sure that they’d still be operating this spring.
At the same time, demand for substance use disorder (SUD) treatment skyrocketed under the COVID-19 pandemic. For the last three quarters reported, California’s opioid dashboard shows that opioid overdose deaths rose from 882 in the final quarter of 2019 to 1,255 in the second quarter of 2020, an increase of over 40%.
On the bright side, the state of California took some serious steps toward addressing the crisis. Its most notable achievement was in the area of funding SUD treatment. The enactment of SB 855 means that private insurers must cover it. At this beginning of this year, the state Department of Managed Health Care has directed the insurers to submit forms documenting their compliance by February 1.
Global Health Organization Calls on Allies to Craft New Plan for Stopping Alcohol Harm
As Big Alcohol expand its reach across every continent, international cooperation becomes critical to protecting public health. No organizations have the capacity for coordination that the World Health Organization (WHO) does, and it is promising that they have identified alcohol harm as a priority. For over a decade, the organization has relied on a Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol and targeted a 10% reduction in member states’ alcohol consumption. Nonetheless, WHO’s own evaluators drily note that it is “unlikely” that any members states will reach that benchmark. Clearly it is time to reassess the strategy.
Conscious of this, the WHO issued a call for comment on a new iteration of the Global Strategy. Alcohol Justice and the California Alcohol Prevention Alliance were both invited to contribute. The letters of comment are attached below, but both emphasized:
1. The need for aggressive opposition towards the global alcohol industry.
2. An emphasis on social justice and equity when assessing alcohol impact and prevention, and amplifying the voices of indigenous minorities, LGBTQ communities, and other vulnerable populations.
3. CAPA and AJ project priorities, including Charge For Harm, advertising restrictions, and tighter control of products designed to promote overconsumption and youth access.
“We’re a small part of a worldwide fight,” said Carson Benowitz-Fredericks, Research Manager for Alcohol Justice, “against a very strong industry. But there are a lot of us across the globe. The WHO Global Strategy gives us a blueprint for coming together, pushing back, and saving lives.”
READ MORE – the original WHO Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol document.
READ MORE – CAPA’s comments on the WHO Global Strategy.
READ MORE – Alcohol Justice’s comments on the WHO Global Strategy.
PASSED | FAILED | |
AJ Supported | 3 | 11 |
AJ Opposed | 7 | 6 |
CAPA Supported | 1 | 2 |
CAPA Opposed | 1 | 1 |
For many of us, 2020 has probably been the most difficult year of our lives. For many others, it’s also sadly been the final year of life. I am deeply sorry for this loss.
For those fighting for sobriety, it has been difficult to meet online. We see many states loosening up cocktails-to-go, expansion of bars into the sidewalks and streets, and home delivery services failing to do age checks. While alcohol use lowers immunity, Congress is toying with permanent alcohol tax cuts.
I’m proud of our work this year at Alcohol Justice. The COVID-19 pandemic forced us to reexamine our response to alcohol corporations and wimpy regulation and enforcement. The battles to reduce the many harms from this most dangerous of legal drugs took on new significance. They also took on a new sense of urgency.
As we leave this painful old year behind, join me in supporting the critical work of Alcohol Justice. Please make a gift to help us face the ongoing challenge of reducing the world’s 3rd leading preventable cause of death in 2021.
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