TITLE: Support for Adoption of “CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain”
WHEREAS, we, the members of the National Congress of American Indians of the United States, invoking the divine blessing of the Creator upon our efforts and purposes, in order to preserve for ourselves and our descendants the inherent sovereign rights of our Indian nations, rights secured under Indian treaties and agreements with the United States, and all other rights and benefits to which we are entitled under the laws and Constitution of the United States and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, to enlighten the public toward a better understanding of the Indian people, to preserve Indian cultural values, and otherwise promote the health, safety and welfare of the Indian people, do hereby establish and submit the following resolution; and
WHEREAS, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) was established in 1944 and is the oldest and largest national organization of American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments; and
WHEREAS, opioid prescriptions have risen dramatically over the past 15 to 20 years and the annual incidence of opioid overdose and deaths have also risen nationally; and
WHEREAS, people in rural counties are nearly twice as likely to overdose on prescription painkillers as people in big cities and many Tribal communities are located in rural areas; and
WHEREAS, AI/AN people are more likely to overdose on prescription painkillers; and
WHEREAS, AI/AN people are more likely more likely to die from overdose of prescription painkillers compared to non-Hispanic Whites; and
WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed and published the CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain, available at https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/prescribing/guideline.html, to provide recommendations for the prescribing of opioid pain medication for patients 18 and older in primary care settings; and
WHEREAS, adoption of the CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain by Indian Health Service (IHS) and Tribal Health Organizations in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Nevada, Northern California, and Alaska would improve how opioids are prescribed to AI/AN patients; and ensure that AI/AN patients have access to safer, more effective chronic pain treatment, while reducing the number of AI/AN people who abuse or overdose from these drugs.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that in the absence of any tribal-specific policy to reduce opioid addiction, overdose and death of American Indian and Alaska Native people, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) supports adoption of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain, available at https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/prescribing/guideline.html, by Indian Health Service and Tribal Health Organizations to reduce opioid addiction, overdose and death of American Indian and Alaska Native people; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this resolution shall be the policy of NCAI until it is withdrawn or modified by subsequent resolution.