Finding Fixes InvestigateWest

SOLUTION:
The best ways to prevent young people from getting addicted don’t necessarily focus on the drugs themselves (forget “Just say no.”) Research shows the more young people are surrounded by risky environments, including stress, poverty, and violence, the more likely they’ll get addicted. But other factors in their environment can protect young people and stand in the way of addiction, such as mentors, clear limits and expectations at home, and supportive communities and schools.
STORY:
The community of Bellingham, Washington, near the U.S.-Canada border finds that the more people focus on strengthening communities and families, the better young people are at staying away from tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs. Data shows it’s making a dent. 
We meet soccer moms and dads, and hear from young people themselves, including an outspoken group of eighth-graders and their mentor, Chelsea. 

SOLUTION:
The more opioids you get after surgery, the more likely you are to be dependent on them down the road. And it doesn't take very long to become dependent on opioids – days to weeks. The solution Washington State and others have enacted are tighter guidelines advising doctors how many pills can be dispensed following surgery, getting them to counsel patients on the risks of the medication, and encouraging them to recommend alternatives for pain relief.
STORY:
How changes in Washington State law around opioid prescribing played out through two major surgeries. Reporter Eilís O’Neill follows a mother, Megan, through the birth of her second child. Two and a half years earlier, when her first child was on his way, Megan had a totally different experience.

What's the appropriate role of opioids in treating chronic pain?
For years doctors have used opioid painkillers as the go-to solution for all kinds of pain. Now that U.S. society is saturated with these pills and so many people are dying of overdoses, medical consensus and even laws are changing. Doctors are getting the message to cut back. But some patients with chronic pain say they’re being cut off – all of a sudden – from the medicine they depend on. 
So what’s the solution? Answering that question means we have to re-examine what we *think* we know about chronic pain. 
On this episode we zoom out and get a more complete picture of chronic pain, so we can understand where opioids fit in.
We find out about one solution that helps people feel better while voluntarily scaling back on opioid painkillers. Doctors, nurses, and therapists are working to give their patients with chronic pain a whole new set of tools.

Medical marijuana is now legal in dozens of states. Some chronic pain patients now rely on it in place of opioid painkillers. But, in the absence of formal medical guidance, many patients are going it on their own, with informal guidance from their peers. Some experts are not convinced though. They caution against potentially harmful side effects.
Reporter and Finding Fixes contributor, Anne Hoffman brings us this intimate look at medical marijuana. 

Trauma and pain and addiction are tightly woven together. But, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is treatable and treating the wounds of trauma can help treat pain and addiction, too. We must pay attention to the toxic effects of trauma if we really want to help people stay away from drugs, if we want to really help people with chronic pain. 
In this episode, we hear personal stories from three women that show just how tightly woven together trauma, pain and addiction are. Also, we hear their stories of post-traumatic growth, and their strategies for moving beyond the pain of the past to fully embrace the present.
Links to resources for help with PTSD or sexual assault:
The National Sexual Assault Hotline: 800.656.HOPE (4673)
Find a clinician who can help with PTSD
The VA has a tool to help choose what kind of treatment you want for PTSD
The VA’s PTSD coach website 
The VA has a lot of apps to help people getting treatment for PTSD

Emergency rooms are the last safety net for the sickest, most marginalized people. People with addiction often end up in emergency departments following an overdose, during withdrawal, or with other health problems.
A new approach is linking people with addiction to drug treatment from a hospital emergency department, instead of just sending them out the door when they’re well again. Two doctors, one emergency department, a social worker, and a person with addiction in recovery show how emergency rooms can become the gateway for people with addiction to access evidence-based drug treatment and other help they may need.