Associated Church hosts panel on opioid epidemic

Despite being one of the foremost public health concerns nationwide, opioid dependency often goes unnoticed until it’s too late.

To shed some light on the subject, Associated Church in Owatonna hosted a panel discussion Tuesday evening — the third installment of the church’s Community Conversations series — exploring the opioid crisis’ impact on Steele County and what local agencies are doing to respond.

The panel included representatives from local health and law enforcement agencies, featuring Director Amber Aaseth and Project Coordinator Maddie Hessian of Steele County Public Health (SCPH), Commander Ben Johnson of the South Central Drug Investigation Unit (SCDIU), Treatment Director Renee Lips-Bush of South Central Human Relations Center (SCHRC) and Director Tim Schammel of Steele County Community Corrections (SCCC).

Panelists offered an inside look at how each agency is working to address the opioid epidemic and other forms of substance abuse in the county.

Steele County Public Health

According to Hessian, Steele County experiences one or two fatal opioid overdoses a year, with another 10 to 20 nonfatal overdoses reported, though many nonfatal overdoses likely go uncounted. In a survey conducted in 2022, 6% of Steele County students reported misusing prescription pain medication.

Hessian’s presentation focused on Steele County’s plans for disbursing the funds it will receive via the National Opioid Settlement, part of a 2021 nationwide settlement agreement against major pharmaceutical companies for their role in the opioid epidemic. The state is directing 75% of its settlement funds to counties and large cities, designating public health agencies as the chief strategists for disbursement.

As a result of Minnesota’s role in the settlement, Steele County will receive almost $1.5 million over a period of 18 years. It has received over $200,000 thus far.

Hessian said SCPH has spent the past year seeking input from experts and the public on how the funds should be used. The department plans to establish a request for proposal process, allowing local programs to apply for funds to support their work in addressing the opioid epidemic.

South Central Drug Investigation Unit

According to Johnson, Minnesota law enforcement seized 1.5 million fentanyl pills in 2023. This year is set to outpace that, with 458,000 seized in the first quarter. The trend holds for meth, with 322 pounds seized so far this year compared to last year’s total of 751 pounds.

He also noted the cost of meth has fallen significantly in recent years, due to a growing supply.

“What is cheaper now than four years ago? Nothing, except for meth,” said Johnson.

Johnson presented a grim view of the opioid situation, saying he feels law enforcement are “chasing our tails” as overdoses continue despite major drug busts.

South Central Human Relations Center

In her presentation, Lips-Bush tackled some common misconceptions about substance use disorders and how they’re treated.

She used to term substance use disorder, as opposed to addiction, to highlight that it’s a treatable, chronic medical condition. In addition to detox and therapy, she highlighted medication-assisted treatment (MAT), in which patients are prescribed meds to alleviate withdrawal symptoms.

Lips-Bush said MAT is often the victim of misinformation, and that — contrary to what some claim — the treatment does not produce a high in patients because their tolerance is much higher than average. She compared opioid withdrawal to “the flu times 100,” arguing MAT was essential for recovering patients to function in life.

She also noted that recovery isn’t always linear, but a recurrence of substance abuse doesn’t mean a patient has lost all their progress.

“It really is common for someone to go back and use again. That doesn’t mean treatment doesn’t work. We’re working really hard with the clients that we serve to make sure they don’t lose hope if that does happen,” she said.

Steele County Community Corrections

Schammel presented on evidence-based probation practices Steele County has adopted, noting that probation was historically only effective at producing short-term compliance.

He spoke on the value of a balanced probation officer, someone who’s capable of serving as both social worker and law enforcement. When they only act as social workers, probation violations go down but recidivism goes up, while both increase if they act solely as law enforcement. By balancing the two approaches, providing parolees with the support they need for recovery while ensuring they’re following the program, Schammel said they can reduce both probation violations and recidivism.

“Evidence-based approach is not soft on crime, in fact we believe it’s the opposite,” said Schammel, arguing that pressing someone to confront their behavior and the changes they need to make is tougher, and more effective, than just sending them to jail for 30 days.

Schammel said people are at high risk of overdose immediately after their release from jail, as they may go back to using the same amount of narcotics as before, unaware that their tolerance is lower.

He also noted that the three most recent fentanyl users sent to Steele Waseca Drug Court were all under the age of 25.

Q & A

Following presentations, one audience member asked Johnson for his “wish list” for local legislators to aid in battling the opioid epidemic, speculating law enforcement may need more funding.

“I want less money,” he said, prompting a few chuckles in the room as people assumed he was joking.

Instead, he continued.

“If we made the right choices, I don’t think we’d have to spend nearly as much. I think throwing money at it is like changing your carpet out every week because you’ve got a leaky roof.”

He went on to say his opinions would likely be “unpopular” with the rest of the panel, arguing that harm reduction strategies designed to help people with substance use disorders — including some of the initiatives discussed that evening — may be a detriment to the community as a whole.

Lips-Bush defended SCHRC’s approach, arguing that more punitive approaches to substance abuse are less effective, and that helping people find stability in life is the best way to treat them.

“We need to help people be able to find housing. We want to be able to help them find jobs,” she said. “We have clients who do want to get a job. They do want to find housing, but because of this stuff they have on their record they can’t. We’re asking people to go get a job, to be able to not put other people at risk, but we’re not giving them the tools to be able to do that.”

Lips-Bush noted that some of their clients at SCHRC are excited to share that they’ve found employment, only to have the offer retracted once their background check comes back. She said many people support themselves by selling drugs, and in order to recover they need help finding another way to live.

The two found some common ground, agreeing that the opioid epidemic has disproportionately impacted marginalized communities, and that meth is also a major concern in the region.

Recently, they’ve seen a rise in people testing positive for both opioids and meth.

“Fentanyl is one piece, but we’re starting to see it mixed with a lot of other things. That’s where my biggest concern was when we learned this information. This sounds really bad, but we’re meth country,” said Lips-Bush.

Attendee Leann Masche thanked the panel for offering their insight, and expressed her hope that the audience shared the awareness they’d gained with others.

“I don’t think I was naive, but this has been an eye opener. I live in little Owatonna, I’m not living in a metro area. It’s been very informative. I appreciate Associated Church opening to this,” said Masche.

Associated Church’s Community Conversations series, which began a year ago, has previously explored book banning efforts and the history of racism in America. Ray Lacina, who serves on the church committee that organized the event, welcomed attendees to submit topics for future events.