“Drugs are not the problem,” said Bill Hazel. “Addiction is the problem.”
Hazel, a former orthopedic surgeon and Virginia Secretary for Health and Human Resources, launched a day-long, 10-speaker addiction symposium on Friday, December 7, with observations on the changes and challenges of prescription and illegal drug use that he has studied throughout his career.
The forum, “Eradicating Addiction: World Medical & Health Policy Symposium Issue Panel,” took place at the Historic Quaker Meeting House in Washington, D.C., and was organized and moderated by Bonnie Stabile, a professor at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government, director of the Master’s in Public Policy program, and co-editor of the World Medical & Health Policy Journal. The event was part of the 11th Dupont Summit, hosted by academic publisher the Policy Studies Organization.
Hazel joined Mason this year as senior advisor for Strategic Initiatives and Policy in the multidisciplinary Institute for Biohealth Innovation. The initial focus of the institute is to spearhead initiatives to combat the national opioid epidemic as it affects Northern Virginia and elsewhere.
His presentation focusing on policy issues set the tone for a day that examined the opioid crisis from a wide variety of angles, including the increase in scale of scope of the epidemic, trafficking, criminal justice, treatment, and using yoga and other alternative therapies as a rehabilitative and preventative practice.
The idea of the conference, said Stabile, is to bring together specialists studying various aspects of the crisis and creating a network for them to continue their efforts, perhaps by joining forces or benefitting from hearing new ideas.
Schar School professors who presented their findings on opioid-related issues included Distinguished Research Professor Arnaud Nicogossian, director of the Center for the Study of International Medical Policies and Practices, who elaborated on the scale of opioid addiction on a global scale, and Associate Professor Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, who detailed illicit drug trafficking and interventions.
Katharine Neill Harris, a 2008 Mason Administration of Justice graduate who is now at Rice University, discussed gaps in drug treatment for criminal justice populations in Harris County, Texas.
The good news, said Hazel near the end of his presentation, is that opioid abuse is “treatable and preventable” and urged a crucial change in culture. “The cost of doing nothing is that we all pay for it,” he said.