USDA hosts an opioid roundtable discussion in Columbia

The United States Department of Agriculture met in Columbia today to discuss strategies to fix the opioid problems in rural areas where the crisis hits them hard.

Law enforcement told ABC 17 that one in every three Missouri families are affected by the opioid crisis.

The Director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture, Chris Chinn, told us someone who worked for her recently had a drug problem and getting them help in a rural community was a difficult task.

“There’s a lot of embarrassment, everybody knows everyone. And, so it’s a private issue. And, families don’t want other neighbors to know about it,” said Chinn.

Chinn told us that despite the backlash, her and other colleagues proceeded to intervene. She told us the process was daunting and she quickly learned the lack of facility space there is for treatment.

“There’s really no one to turn to for help, you know, we don’t know in a small community where we can go to get this person help, the waiting lists are long for people who are needing to seek treatment,” said Chinn.

Chin said she hopes people will recognize drug addiction as a disease so people will get the help they need and see it as a life-long illness to manage.

Law enforcement also told us that everyone should have a locked prescription cabinet at home. They say 92-percent of opioid addicts say they got it from their friends or family trying to be helpful.

This Saturday, April 28th, the DEA will be holding a National Prescription Drug Take Back Day telling people where to go and get this stuff out of their medicine cabinets. You can find more details here.