For Immediate Release: Nov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NOV. 8, 2004

Contact: Bob Weiner/Rebecca Vander Linde 301-283-0821/202-361-0611

TOP NATIONAL ANTI-DRUG LEADERS JOIN GRAND OPENING OF TACOMA/LAKEWOOD 350-PERSON TREATMENT FACILITY, LAUNCH NEW FDA-APPROVED DRUG TO TREAT ADDICTION; “BUPRENORPHINE” COULD REDUCE NATION’S TREATMENT GAP, CLINIC “NATIONAL MODEL”:

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2004, 1:00 PM, “TACOMA TREATMENT SOLUTIONS”,

9500 FRONT STREET, LAKEWOOD/TACOMA, WASHINGTON

4-STAR GEN. BARRY MCCAFFREY, FORMER US DRUG CZAR, AND DR. BARRY KARLIN, CEO OF COUNTRY’S LARGEST TREATMENT PROVIDER, CRC HEALTH, SET TO JOIN STATE, COUNTY, AND LOCAL ANTI-DRUG LEADERS IN ANNOUNCING OPENING & NEW DRUG AT

LAKEWOOD OUTPATIENT FACILITY AS WELL AS VANCOUVER AND LYNNWOOD

(Tacoma, WA) – Top national anti-drug leaders will launch a new treatment for drug addiction at the grand opening of a new 350-person outpatient treatment facility on Tuesday, November 9 at 1PM, Tacoma Treatment Solutions at 9500 Front Street, Lakewood/Tacoma. Four-Star General Barry McCaffrey, the former U.S. National Drug Policy Director and now Distinguished International Security Professor at West Point, and Dr. Barry Karlin, Chairman and CEO of the country’s largest substance abuse treatment provider, CRC Health Group, will join Washington State, Pierce County, and local anti-drug leaders in the Grand Opening of the facility, near completion, and in announcing the provision of buprenorphine, a new anti-opiate treatment now in its infancy nationwide.

The federal Food and Drug Administration approved buprenorphine just last year for outpatient treatment facilities. According to CRC Health Group, which will manage the facility, buprenorphine meets a formerly largely unmet need for persons “in early opioid addictions, for detoxification from opioids, and as the first line medication for individuals not at the chronic stages of an opioid addiction.” It eliminates withdrawal symptoms in contrast to other treatments and can help individuals return to abstinence from drugs. It will be an enormous help to the area and community notably in meeting the needs of persons addicted to the new wave of OxyContin, and painkillers including prescriptions, who might not necessarily need traditional methadone maintenance. Methadone, which the facility will also offer as needed, will be used for more advanced or chronic opiate addictions. For all treatments, the objective will be to restore abusers to safe, productive lives.

According to CRC CEO Barry Karlin, “The treatment gap has existed for decades, and now we have the opportunity to do something concrete to reduce it. There are 19 million regular drug abusers, but only 3 million are receiving treatment. Tacoma Treatment Solutions will be a national model program by offering the very most advanced options to help the area community.” Karlin and McCaffrey will also announce the opening of a clinic in Vancouver by year’s end, making five CRC facilities in Washington State (Federal Way, Lynnwood, Vancouver, Lakewood and Renton…three new clinics this year).

Karlin and McCaffrey will also report on the cutting-edge Washington State online drug treatment program, another “supplement” to tradition treatment that can also reduce the treatment gap, Karlin says, which is enjoying twice the completion rate of traditional drug treatment.

McCaffrey hailed the leadership of Governor Gary Locke, Lieutenant Governor Brad Owen, state Alcohol and Substance Abuse Division Director Ken Stark, and local professionals for taking “powerful steps” to alleviate the drug crisis. “The community and providers, working together, can reduce drug addiction,” said Dr. Karlin and Gen. McCaffrey.

Gen. Barry McCaffrey and Dr. Barry Karlin, Statement November 9, 2004, at Grand Opening of Lakewood Treatment Solutions and Announcement of Inclusion of Buprenorphine to Treat Opiate Addiction

While we face threats from al Qaeda to our national security, an internal crisis also threatens our safety: substance abuse and drug related crime.

More than 50,000 people die each year from drug-related causes. Of the estimated 19 million people suffering from drug abuse, only 3 million receive treatment. Addiction and drug abuse cost U.S. taxpayers over $276 billion dollars annually; the economic costs of alcohol and other drug abuse in Washington State alone is over 2 ½ Billion dollars, according to the state’s Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse (DASA).

Washington State is taking powerful steps to alleviate this situation. Governor Gary Locke and Lieutenant Governor Brad Owen have gone after underage drinking, are targeting methamphetamine, and are seeking expanded drug treatment as an alternative to imprisonment. DASA under director Ken Stark promotes prevention and treatment strategies that prevent the misuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, and support recovery from the disease of chemical dependency. Local professional leaders, many here today, have contributed enormously and are the heart and soul of the effort.

Yet work needs to be done. According to DEA’s report this year, in Washington State:
-- Cocaine and crack are “readily available.” Federal authorities seized 480 kilograms in the state in 2003.
-- Heroin is “smuggled from Mexico to Washington by a variety of methods;” 14 kilograms were seized last year.

-- Methamphetamine is “one of the most widely abused controlled substances”-- 894 meth labs were seized in the state in 2003 by DEA and state and local enforcement.
-- Club drugs including Ecstasy are coming into the state in overwhelming numbers:

Federal authorities in Washington State seized 6500 ecstasy tablets in 2003.
-- Marijuana is “readily available.” Over 10,000 kilograms were seized by federal law enforcement alone last year in Washington.
-- OxyContin is “often the target of criminals involved in burglary and armed robbery” in Washington. In addition, enforcement teams “have found high school students selling OxyContin.” For all prescription drugs, DEA reports a major problem of “illegal dispensing and prescribing by practitioners.”

This not very pretty picture, typical of the drug crisis in states across the U.S.needs fixing.

Comprehensive recovery programs combined with community outreach will reduce drug addiction and help area residents return to and maintain healthy, productive lives. Today we are announcing and celebrating a new 350-person outpatient facility opening in Lakewood/Tacoma, Tacoma Treatment Solutions, with an additional clinic opening by the end of the year in Vancouver. These facilities together with three others (Federal way, Renton, and Lynwood) -- will offer buprenorphine, an anti-opiate treatment approved last year by the FDA and in its infancy nationwide, to address a formerly largely unmet need for persons “in early opioid addictions, for detoxification from opioids, and as the first line medication for individuals not at the chronic stages of an opioid addiction.”

The program can help individuals return to drug abstinence and avoids withdrawal symptoms of other treatments. It will be an enormous help in meeting the needs of persons addicted to the new wave of OxyContin and painkillers including prescriptions, individuals who might not necessarily need traditional methadone maintenance. Methadone, which the facilities will also offer as needed, will be used for more advanced or chronic addictions.

The need is intense: data from the University of Washington’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute shows that treatment admissions for prescription opiates has more than tripled since 1999 right here in the Seattle area. Our local treatment program leaders report that prescription painkiller addiction has been our fastest growing population, including a significant increase in “oral” users with the majority as OxyContin.

For the over two million heroin, opiate and prescription drug addicts, most of whom lack treatment, it’s time to help them become productive citizens. Drug abuse knows no societal limitation, and we need to reach everyone with all the tools at our disposal.

We must face the fact that the treatment gap has remained a crisis for decades. We must adjust our strategies. New technologies and medications can drastically reduce the gap in treatment available versus the needed capacity, both in cities as well as rural areas with limited traditional residential treatment.

Another profound development in which Washington State is a national pioneer is new live, interactive online drug and alcohol treatment services for adults and teens. Online treatment now complements traditional strategies by providing confidentiality and at-home ease via the Internet. CRC’s first year data from 600 online clients and over 15,000 online sessions of its eGetgoing (Internet videostream treatment) division shows an 81% completion rate versus 40% reported by HHS for traditional treatment – twice the completion rate. Online treatment has enormous promise.

The White House Drug Policy Office’s five-year anti-drug media campaign is focused on TV ads educating teenagers about the dangers of drug abuse and encouraging parents to talk to their children. This campaign has contributed to a continuing decline in drug use. Ad campaigns work, especially when they are national-local partnerships.

Drug courts, which allow mandatory treatment rather than incarceration for non-violent offenders, is another major step that makes absolute sense. Drug courts have increased grew from a dozen in 1995 to over 800 today.Approximately 17,000 offenders graduate each year from these superb programs.

One legislative solution we need immediately is “parity”, providing equal health insurance for drug and alcohol treatment as for other illnesses. In 2000 we succeeded in generating substance abuse treatment parity for all federal employees – but the private sector deserves no less.

As we confront national security threats abroad, it is equally important that we deter threats to our domestic security. Confronting drug addiction through science-based treatment must be a core principle of Washington State’s response.

Barry McCaffrey, a four-star general, was U.S. Drug Policy Director from 1996-2001 and now is Distinguished International Security Professor at West Point. Dr. Barry Karlin is Chairman and CEO of CRC Health Group, the nation’s largest substance abuse treatment provider.