AG: Federal funding will only put a dent in NC opioid crisis

The federal government is giving North Carolina $31 million to combat the ongoing opioid crisis, but Attorney General Josh Stein says the funds will put only a dent in the problem.

"It is going to get worse before it gets better," Stein said.

Stein said the funds will treat only about 3,000 to 4,000 people, or about $7,700 to $10,000 for each user.

"Treatments cost a few thousand dollars per person, which is a fraction of what it costs to put somebody in prison or jail," he said. "So, what we have to ask ourselves is, what is the most cost-effective way to deal with this crisis?"

Stein said the biggest change will come when state agencies begin to look beyond prevention and focus on recovery.

United States of Opioids

North Carolina United States

Like other drugs, opioid prescriptions vary by dosage and days supply, so the Centers for Disease Control used pharmacy surveys to calculate a measurement called MME - morphine milligram equivalents. Select a county below to find out the annual MME per person for each county in 2015 and see how things have changed in the last five years. Some counties, like Camden, did not report data for 2015.

ALAMANCE ALEXANDER ALLEGHANY ANSON ASHE AVERY BEAUFORT BERTIE BLADEN BRUNSWICK BUNCOMBE BURKE CABARRUS CALDWELL CAMDEN CARTERET CASWELL CATAWBA CHATHAM CHEROKEE CHOWAN CLAY CLEVELAND COLUMBUS CRAVEN CUMBERLAND CURRITUCK DARE DAVIDSON DAVIE DUPLIN DURHAM EDGECOMBE FORSYTH FRANKLIN GASTON GATES GRAHAM GRANVILLE GREENE GUILFORD HALIFAX HARNETT HAYWOOD HENDERSON HERTFORD HOKE HYDE IREDELL JACKSON JOHNSTON JONES LEE LENOIR LINCOLN MACON MADISON MARTIN MCDOWELL MECKLENBURG MITCHELL MONTGOMERY MOORE NASH NEW HANOVER NORTHAMPTON ONSLOW ORANGE PAMLICO PASQUOTANK PENDER PERQUIMANS PERSON PITT POLK RANDOLPH RICHMOND ROBESON ROCKINGHAM ROWAN RUTHERFORD SAMPSON SCOTLAND STANLY STOKES SURRY SWAIN TRANSYLVANIA TYRRELL UNION VANCE WAKE WARREN WASHINGTON WATAUGA WAYNE WILKES WILSON YADKIN YANCEY

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MME per capita

1215+

<1215

<833

0-635

N/A

439.2
MME per capita, 2015

From 2010 to 2015, WAKE County's per capita morphine milligram equivalent decreased from 521 to 439.2 MME annually. It was one of 29 other counties in North Carolina to see a decline of more than 10 percent. The county's MME ranks it 86 of 99 in North Carolina and 2,110 of 2,963 localities reporting across the country.

CDC analysis puts the national average daily MME per prescription at 48.1. For WAKE, that means prescription amounts in 2015 were the equivalent of a 9.13-day supply of opioids for every person in the county. The CDC's guidelines, however, say a typical opioid prescription – 5 mg of hydrocodone every four hours – totals 30 MME per day. By this more conservative measure, WAKE County pharmacies dispensed enough opioids to medicate every one of its residents around the clock for 14.64 days.

Graphic by Tyler Dukes and The Associated Press
SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control

From 2010 to 2015, nearly half of all localities reporting across the country saw a decrease in the prescription of opioids, according to CDC data analyzed by The Associated Press. But about one-quarter saw an increase of more than 10 percent. Here's a look at morphine milligram equivalents per capita for each locality that reported in 2015.

MME per capita

928+

<928

<648

0-399

N/A

The CDC's study found that localities with high prescribing rates had several factors in common, including larger percentages of non-Hispanic white residents, a higher prevalence of diabetes and arthritis, higher rates of unemployment and higher rates of Medicaid enrollment. Counties with higher rates also tended to be so-called "micropolitan" areas, which have fewer than 50,000 people with urban areas of at least 10,000.

Graphic by Tyler Dukes and The Associated Press
SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control

"We have these tens of thousands of people who are presently suffering from substance use disorder, addiction to these opioids," Stein said. "We have to have more treatment options. That's where we are failing."

Stein called that failure inexcusable, but he also knows that cutting off the crisis will take time.

Recently, Stein also advocated for the STOP Act, which would add requirements for doctors, dentists, veterinarians and pharmacists to track prescriptions for controlled substances in schedules II through V, including opioid pain medications, through the state’s Controlled Substances Reporting System database.