Interview: Dr. Mark Wilson on Alabama’s Painkiller Prescription Problem
The number of deaths caused by drug overdoses has steadily increased over the past 20 years. And it’s not just illegal drugs like cocaine or heroin.
The abuse of prescription painkillers is a huge — and growing — problem. Painkiller overdoses are now the leading cause of injury death in America.
But this risk isn’t spread out evenly across the country. A report from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention released earlier this month shows that the risk of prescription overdoes varies dramatically depending on where someone lives.
This CDC study was looking for patterns in prescriptions for painkillers like Percocet and Vicodin. They discovered that nationally, there are about 82.5 opioid painkiller prescriptions written for every 100 people in the U.S. But in southern states, the number was much higher, with Alabama leading the country in painkiller prescriptions. In 2012, there were 143 painkiller prescriptions for every 100 people in Alabama.
WBHM’s Rachel Osier Lindley spoke with Dr. Mark Wilson, Health Officer at the Jefferson County Department of Health, about why there are so many more painkiller prescriptions in the South and what Alabama is doing to address the problem.
Once praised, settlement to help sickened BP oil spill workers leaves most with nearly nothing
Thousands of ordinary people who helped clean up after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico say they got sick. A court settlement was supposed to help compensate them, but it hasn’t turned out as expected.
Q&A: How harm reduction can help mitigate the opioid crisis
Maia Szalavitz discusses harm reduction's effectiveness against drug addiction, how punitive policies can hurt people who need pain medication and more.
The Gulf States Newsroom is hiring a Community Engagement Producer
The Gulf States Newsroom is seeking a curious, creative and collaborative professional to work with our regional team to build up engaged journalism efforts.
Gambling bills face uncertain future in the Alabama legislature
This year looked to be different for lottery and gambling legislation, which has fallen short for years in the Alabama legislature. But this week, with only a handful of meeting days left, competing House and Senate proposals were sent to a conference committee to work out differences.
Alabama’s racial, ethnic health disparities are ‘more severe’ than other states, report says
Data from the Commonwealth Fund show that the quality of care people receive and their health outcomes worsened because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
What’s your favorite thing about Alabama?
That's the question we put to those at our recent News and Brews community pop-ups at Hop City and Saturn in Birmingham.
