From Health Affairs, Nora D. Volkow Making Addiction Treatment More Realistic And Pragmatic: The Perfect Should Not Be The Enemy Of The Good Last year saw drug overdose deaths in the U.S. surpass an unthinkable milestone: 100,000 deaths in a year. This is the highest number of drug overdoses in our country’s history, and the […]
Substance Use Disorder (SUD)
Opioid Treatment Equity
From NPR, by Marisa Penaloza Black Opioid Deaths Increase Faster Than Whites, Spurring Calls For Treatment Equity A study published Thursday reveals a growing racial disparity in opioid overdose death rates. Deaths among African Americans are growing faster than among whites across the country. The study authors call for an “antiracist public health approach” to […]
Buprenorphine misuse decreases
NIDA News Release, October 15, 2021 Buprenorphine misuse decreased among U.S. adults with opioid use disorder from 2015-2019 Data from a nationally representative survey indicate that in 2019, nearly three-fourths of U.S. adults reporting buprenorphine use did not misuse the medication in the past 12 months. In addition, buprenorphine misuse among people with opioid use […]
Toolkit: Telehealth & OUD
The Telehealth for Opioid Use Disorder Toolkit: Guidance to Support High-Quality Care, released in October 2021, focuses on buprenorphine (typically formulated as buprenorphine/naloxone, hereafter termed buprenorphine) and adjunctive psychotherapy treatment options for OUD and does not cover methadone treatment or XR-naltrexone. The primary goal of this toolkit is to provide clinically relevant information to support […]
COVID and Substance Use Disorders
The CDC has listed substance use disorders, schizophrenia spectrum disorders, and mood disorders, including depression as underlying medical conditions associated with higher risk for severe COVID-19. Individuals with comorbidities are encouraged to be vaccinated against COVID-19, including a booster. Detailed information is available on CDC’s Underlying Medical Conditions Associated with Higher Risk for Severe COVID-19: […]
Howard County funds $1.5M for SUD residential treatment centers
From the Baltimore Sun Howard County announces $1.5 million in funding for substance-use disorder residential treatment centers October 5, 2021 | by Katie V. Jones Howard County Executive Calvin Ball announced Tuesday that $1.5 million in grant funding would be divided between three county residential treatment centers for those facing substance-use disorders: Howard House in […]
Filmmaker highlights language barriers fueling overdose crisis in Philly’s Black communities
From Metro Philly, by Brandon Dorfman, September 1, 2021 In the new short film “OPIOIDS: A Breakdown of the Invisible Overdose Crisis in the Black Community,” artist and filmmaker Richard Patterson, Jr. recalls Philadelphia’s transition from crack cocaine to Percocets and the language barriers that separated the Black community. Everyone talked about percs, Patterson said […]
Methamphetamine Deaths Soar, Hitting Black And Native Americans Especially Hard
From NPR, by Brian Mann, 09/22/21 When Winnie White Tail convened a new session of inpatient substance use treatment last month for members of the Arapaho and Cheyenne tribes, she found that roughly half her clients were struggling with methamphetamine addiction. “It’s readily available, it’s easy to get,” White Tail says. She’s a Cheyenne tribal […]
Opioid prescriptions fell over past decade while drug overdose deaths climbed: AMA report
From The Hill, by Justine Coleman, 09/21/21 Physicians have prescribed 44 percent less opioids over the past decade, yet fatal and nonfatal drug overdoses have continued to climb, according to a new report from the American Medical Association (AMA). The association called on lawmakers to “act now” over the overdose statistic. AMA’s report documented a […]
National Addiction Professionals Day
National Addiction Professionals Day September 20, 2021