HOT SPRINGS -- The fight against the opioid epidemic is one that crosses all boundaries, including political, social and economic, a business executive whose son was a casualty of the addiction told attendees Thursday at the 2019 Arkansas Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Summit.
The eighth annual event, hosted by Attorney General Leslie Rutledge at the Hot Springs Convention Center, was originally scheduled to have former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as its keynote speaker, but he was forced to cancel for health reasons.
In his place, Jerry Jones, chief ethics and legal officer and executive vice president of LiveRamp Holdings Inc., formerly Acxiom, spoke about the loss of his son, Barret, to opioids and the efforts he has made to address the crisis in the years since.
Jones thanked Christie, in his absence, for taking a leadership role in addressing the crisis.
"The fight against the opioid epidemic is one that crosses all boundaries. This beast of the disease of opioid addiction in America, it knows no political boundary lines, it knows no social or economic boundary lines and it has no geographic boundaries to contain itself, it's everywhere. ... I want to thank Gov. Christie for the leadership that he has shown, for the passion that he has shown," Jones said.
"All of you know that every day across the country, almost 200 people die from opioid addiction, and like many of you 1,363 days ago, my family lost a loved one to this disease," he said.
Barret, his youngest son, "decided that the journey of his life had come to an end, but he did not accidental overdose, he consciously ended his life, at least in part, because he could no longer have opioids in his body," Jones said.
"By the way," he said, "45% of all people believe that all that is needed to overcome addiction is just willpower, but we know the evidence doesn't support that." As his son was in his late 20s, Jones said, "he was an adult at this point in his life and as his parents, we couldn't force him to seek treatment."
"But he just wouldn't seek treatment ... he thought he could will his way away from the disease," he said.
When Jones found his son's body, he noted the police department, fire department, emergency medical technicians, detectives and the coroner all showed up. "They all very professionally did their jobs," he said.
"That morning I thought about how rapidly our systems kicked in when that one phone call was made, and I began to wonder why we can't design systems to be as easily accessible for the people that need help as the systems that kick in that are there to deal with the tragic outcomes that sometimes occur from opioid addiction."
Jones said his family decided "we had to work to raise awareness around the causes of addiction."
Jones said he has been friends with former President Bill Clinton since he was 17 years old. Within a day of his son's death, Clinton called him. "He was comforting in his words, and he also said that he would help in any way that he could." A month later, Jones met with Clinton, "and he shared with me that our family was the fifth family that was very close to his family who had lost a loved one to the opioid epidemic, so he was very motivated to do something."
Afterward, Jones said the Clinton Health Matters Initiative was "fully in the fight."
Jones said doctors are now required by law to check a statewide database before they can prescribe a narcotic. "Gov. [Asa] Hutchinson was all in on this issue," Jones said, but noted they faced some opposition. "They flat out said 'You know what, this is really going to put a burden on medical professionals that they have to check this database before we can run a prescription.'"
Jones said one of his friends responded, "Well if you want to talk about burden, we'll talk what it's like to bury a son, they just don't compare."
Another person working with Jones on the issue is Doug McMillon, president and CEO of Walmart, after Jones ran into him at a leadership conference. "Doug came up to me and said 'Jerry, how you doing?'" He told McMillon his story and the CEO asked him what he could do to help. "I thought he was being nice," Jones said, but the next morning McMillon found him and said, "'I'm dead serious ... I want to know what can Walmart do, tell me.'"
After contacting the Clinton Health Matters Initiative, Walmart said, "We're going to throw some technology at this. We are going to start doing another type of monitoring of prescription amounts ... in our pharmacies, and if we detect over-prescribing, we are going to cut them off," according to Jones.
Jones said he is not looking for personal credit for his efforts, noting he is just trying to be a "possible inspiration to others to be willing to do what they can and to help others come into the light and be willing to destigmatize this disease."
In a letter read by Laura Monteverdi, Christie said, "Your meeting today addresses the biggest public health crisis this nation has seen since the HIV/AIDS crisis. Tens of thousands of Americans are dying every year from opioid addiction, more than deaths from auto accidents and gun violence combined; we have to address the three legs of this stool towards recovery, intervention, treatment and non-opioid alternatives for pain."
In the letter, Christie also said that as the chairman of the President's Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, "we put forward 63 recommendations to deal with this challenge, all 63 recommendations were adopted by the president."
The summit served as a free training and educational opportunity for law enforcement officers, medical professionals, treatment specialists, pharmacists and educators.
"As this event grows, it proves Arkansas' nationally renowned work combating the opioid crisis is having an impact," Rutledge said in a statement released after the summit. "Each year, this Summit expands the collaborative effort between federal, State and local resources, and by working together, I am confident we will continue to save lives and curb this crisis."
Metro on 11/15/2019