By Eilis O’Neill The death toll of the opioid crisis is rising faster in Washington state than anywhere else in the country. Addiction researchers say one thing that could help would be revisiting federal prescribing guidelines for buprenorphine, one of the main medications that can help people addicted to fentanyl or other[Read More…]
Tag: opioid crisis
Remember opioid crisis? It’s gotten worse.
Narcan, generically known as naloxone and used to revive people who overdose on opioids, may not reverse an overdose on xylazine, an animal tranquilizer that has found its way to the streets. Matt Rourke, AP Photo Researchers say a series of interventions appear to help with overdose deaths, but warn[Read More…]
Monthly Buprenorphine Initiation Rates Remain Flat, Despite Policy Changes
Jul 19, 2023 Killian Meara Only 1 in 5 patients who initiated buprenorphine were retained in therapy for at least 180 days. Despite several policy changes that aimed to increase access to buprenorphine during the COVID-19 pandemic, monthly initiation rates of buprenorphine therapy have remained flat, according to research results.1[Read More…]
COVID has been hiding another epidemic. We have to do more for our opioid patients.
Last year alone, nearly 110,000 people died from opiate use. This is a pill Americans cannot afford to continue to swallow. Dr. Thomas K. Lew | Opinion Contributor A 40-year-old man arrives in my hospital’s emergency department, blue from not breathing. It takes several rounds of medication and ventilators to[Read More…]
Advocates of using psychedelic drug ibogaine to treat addiction say its risks to the heart can be mitigated in a controlled study
TUESDAY, JULY 18, 2023 By Melissa PatrickKentucky Health News The Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission held its first public hearing Monday, July 17, to discuss funding development of an opioid-use disorder treatment using the psychedelic drug ibogaine with some of the money the state is getting from settlements with drug makers and[Read More…]
Mountain State Spotlight explains: West Virginia’s opioid settlement foundation will soon have board members. Here’s how they’re picked.
By Allen Siegler for Mountain State Spotlight Local governments have been selecting their representatives for the West Virginia First Foundation. Here’s the process and what impact they’ll have on the state’s efforts to abate the opioid crisis. In the coming days, local government leaders across West Virginia are set to[Read More…]
KY commission hears from experts on promise of psychedelic to treat opioid addiction
ALEX ACQUISTO, TAYLOR SIX Karen Butcher, whose son died in 2020 of an opioid overdose, asked a panel of experts on Monday in Frankfort: If cost wasn’t a factor, why shouldn’t Kentucky explore the use of an illicit psychedelic drug as a treatment for opioid addiction? “If money wasn’t an[Read More…]
Better Than Drugs? Scientists Use Hugs To Treat Opioid-Exposed Newborns
A clinical trial conducted by UNM has identified the best care practices for newborns exposed to opioids. According to recent research by the University of New Mexico, hugging and swaddling newborns exposed to opioids can decrease their hospitalization period by nearly a week, in contrast to traditional drug-oriented treatments. Over the[Read More…]
Here’s how much money Louisville will receive from opioid settlements
By Eleanor McCrary, Louisville Courier Journal Louisville Metro Government and Jefferson County will receive over $57 million in opioid settlement money over two decades, Mayor Craig Greenberg said in a press conference Thursday. The city is set to receive the first $7 million installment by the end of 2023. The[Read More…]
AMERICA’S APPROACH TO ADDICTION HAS GONE OFF THE RAILS
In a time of fentanyl and meth, we need to use law enforcement differently—and more often. By Sam Quinones This article was featured in One Story to Read Today, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a single must-read from The Atlantic, Monday through Friday. Sign up for it here. In Louisville, Kentucky,[Read More…]