Anti-Vaxxers, Climate Change Deniers and Addiction Treatment

Injustice doesn't wait for fair weather. I was in a hospital bed, recovering from one more complication of surgery when I learned that Maine’s governor proposed eliminating funding for methadone. My first thought was “Can’t a fellow have a little cancer without being dragged back into battle?” The Maine Department of Health and Human Services had determined that buprenorphine was the most effective for opiate addiction. This is the same department and same administration that implemented a two-year retroactive limitation on buprenorphine.

Now, I like a good fight for a righteous cause as much as the next guy (in truth, probably more so). With ASAM’s assistance I spent two years fighting against the buprenorphine limitations and lost. I carried sweet reason and facts to the legislature and got clobbered anyway.

So, what happened, and what can we learn from the defeat? One benefit of enforced rest is the time to read The Washington Post, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Atlantic, etc. and their reporting and commentaries about the anti-vaccine movement. And it hit me: those opposed to methadone and buprenorphine are the equivalents of anti-vaxxers. Even in face of illness and death the anti-vaxxers remain resistant to facts. But the zeitgeist is changing. Politicians who make statements that give credence to anti-vaccine beliefs are being held up to ridicule. The concept of ‘herd immunity’ is gaining acceptance. Families affected by infection are speaking out more loudly and are being heard.

 has developed a comprehensive action plan to combat limitations on the medical management of opiate addiction. It has created the most comprehensive evidence base supporting the use of all three of the FDA-approved medications and a communication plan to carry the message to the public and to decision-makers.

Most anti-vaxxers and climate change deniers are not going to change their beliefs. “Don’t confuse me with the facts.” We need to carry the messages of treatment effectiveness, the consequences of the failure to treat and herd immunity to those open to listening. The PATF has given us the tools. Time is getting past us. Lives are at stake.

Get moving.