e.t. 30:21 

Today is Sunday, August 13th  227th day of the yeat – 138 left in 2023 

22 days remain until Labor Day 

On this date in 1960, the first two-way long distance satellite telephone call took place.  The callers bounced their signals off the Echo 1 satellite.  An amazing feat for its day..  And these days we just dial the phone number on the device in our hands. 

It was August 13th, 1961, construction began on East Germany’s Berlin wall.

August 13th, 1899 Alfred Hitchcock was born.  

 A problem none of us are too-far removed from.  If we don’t know someone hurt by opioids, we know of a family whose lost at least one of its members to it.  Or we know someone who trying to stop the problem.  But it’s too sneaky and it’s too big. 

Here’s a brief history

In its modern-day context, Opioids were introduced as a painkiller named OxyContin by drug manufacturer Purdue Pharma.  The promise of the manufacturer to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and prescribing doctors was these weren’t addictive.  It was a lie and remains unclear how the FDA seemingly broke its own rules in approving it for under-regulated pain relief.  And the FDA’s broad indication of the drug for pain relief kept prescriptions for Oxycontin and all its competitive imitators surging – even after problems with opioids as pain-relieving medicine became apparent.  People were becoming addicted but prescriptions were bounding and pills remained prescribed.

Meanwhile, addicted Patients who needed the drug whose prescription coverage ran out were forced to either acquire new precriptions by fraud or switch to illegal, black-market heroin.  As heroin became scarcer and higher=priced , fentenyl was introduced  as a cheaper but unregulated and more-dangerous  black-market replacement.  Illegal distributors took to mixing fentenyl with horse tranquilizors like zila-zene to make its effects last longer.  All of this concocting is being done illegally, quickly and without scientific or legal oversight by drug dealers motivated by profit.  MIxing in too much Fentenyl – people die.  Mixing in zila-zene – too many unforeseen and undesirable  results in humans.   But the attraction of these illegal drugs to those who want to take them is strong.  Bring us to where  we are today – conversing with members of CFort Cumberland=Fayetteville Opioid Response Team.   A multifaceted, multi-disciplined approach to one of the tragic realities of life in the 21st century.  Trying to fight modern-day Opioid addiction in and on our streets.  

They include public health officials, street-wise former users, mental health practioners, harm reduction personnel whose purpose is to keep addiction victims alive as long as they need to to come to the realization that a better life awaits for the non-addicted….but that’s a decision only the addicted individual can make.  

Police, prosecutors and diversion courts are also necessary to the process of fighting the ravaging effects of opioid addiction.  We’ve covered their vital role in past editions of Talkback.   

We also, over the past several years, have included news of many 

So let’s introduce Today’s panel discussion…. (Interview).  

I’m Paul Johnson, thanking you for your mental participation   

An update to Within the past two days,  

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review the controversial bankruptcy case involving Purdue Pharma, the maker of Oxycontin, and members of the Sackler family who own the company. Justices on Thursday temporarily blocked implementation of the $6 billion deal while the appeal is heard. 

My hope is that none of the good work being done toward helping victims of the opioid crisis is paused or stopped while the Supreme Court evaluates the “immunity from lawsuit” provision in the $6Billion settlement that protects the Purdue Pharma owner Sackler family; keeping the family untouchable liability-wise.  The Sacklers have made billions with their drug, have remained billionaires and have not needed to or filed for any bankruptcy following their Settlement in October of 2020.   That is the part of the settlement going under review.