STILLWATER, Okla. — The crisis of addiction hasn’t spared any demographic or any state, including Oklahoma.
The Trust for America’s Health ranked Oklahoma fifth-highest for drug overdose mortality in the U.S., based on 2013 numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Stillwater News Press (reported. The same report said that rate tripled from 1999-2010.
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy, M.D. came to Oklahoma, holding meetings with communities and addressing the dual plagues of prescription drug abuse and opioid addiction.
He made a stop in Shawnee at the Citizen Potawatomi Cultural Center May 25 during a meeting of the Southern Plains Tribal Health Board to have a town hall meeting with Native American youth who are developing prevention programs in their own communities.
He also held a listening session with tribal leaders, parents and youth.
It was the first-ever meeting between a U.S. Surgeon General and tribal leaders.
The tribal participants emphasized that emotional well-being and mental health are two important components of prevention in general but Native communities, like many traditionally disadvantaged groups, have added burdens.
