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18 J.L. Soc'y 236 (2018)
Interprofessional Comprehensive Treatment: A Call for Change regarding the Current Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder

handle is hein.journals/jls18 and id is 348 raw text is: INTERPROFESSIONAL COMPREHENSIVE TREATMENT: A CALL FOR CHANGE REGARDING THE CURRENT TREATMENT OF OPIOID USE DISORDER ALBERT J. ASCIUTTO I. INTRODUCTION This Note explores the major cultural shift in sensibilities regarding substance abuse disorders in America, specifically focusing on the treatment of substance abuse disorders in Michigan. It discusses the transition of Opioid Use Disorder (OUD)' from the hidden, inner city problem of fifty years ago, to the present day, where OUD has overtaken Metro-Detroit's suburban landscape in epidemic-like proportions. This Note takes the position that the recent transformation in society's dependence upon opiates for treatment of pain is driven by the prescription drug industry, which since 1999 has nearly quadrupled the amount of prescription opioids sold in the U.S., resulting in 80% of the world's pain pills currently being consumed by those living in the United States.2 Americans' dependence upon government-regulated controlled substances, and the ensuing struggle of individuals with OUD to legally maintain their habit, has led many users down a path directly into the illicit drug market in pursuit of habit maintenance. An established link between prescription opiate medication and street heroin dependence is evidenced by the extreme increase in the number of overdoses and opiate-related deaths; drug overdose is now the leading cause of death from injury in the United States.3 Widespread reporting on these events, driven by social and network media sensationalism, documents the rising trends in drug- dependence-related deaths, crime, and overdoses, has fueled the debate over how to best investigate, assess, and ultimately 'solve,' this growing epidemic. 1. There is a problematic pattern of opioid use that causes clinically significant impairment or distress. A diagnosis is based on specific criteria such as unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control use, as well as use resulting in social problems and a failure to fulfill obligations at work, school, or home. Opioid use disorder has also been referred to as 'opioid abuse or dependence' or 'opioid addiction.' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Opioid Basics, August 28, 2017, https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/opioids/ 2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Injury Prevention and Control: Opioid Overdose, June 21, 2016, https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/epidemic/ 3. Margaret Warner, NCHS Data Brief Drug Poisoning Deaths in the United States, U.S. DEPT. OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (Dec. 2011), http://www.cdc.gov /nchs/data/databriefs/db81.pdf.

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