We curate a digest of the latest news in our field for advocates, policymakers, community coalitions and all who work toward shaping policies and practices to effectively prevent substance use and treat addiction.
Misuse of opioids, including heroin and prescription painkillers, has risen among adults 50 and older, according to a new government report. Rates of opioid misuse have decreased among young adults.
Almost 44 million American adults—18 percent—had some type of mental illness in the past year, according to a report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Some prosecutors are trying to fight the opioid epidemic with homicide-related charges against drug dealers in cases involving overdoses, The New York Times reports.
While medication-assisted treatment is the recommended therapy for pregnant women addicted to opioids, medically supervised withdrawal is an option if a woman does not accept treatment, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said this week.
Calls to poison control centers regarding dietary supplements increased by almost 50 percent between 2005 and 2012, according to a new study. A majority of the calls involved children 6 years old and under.
Twenty Democratic senators are asking the Office of National Drug Control Policy to do more to combat the opioid epidemic, according to the Associated Press.
A large online marketplace that sells drugs, stolen credit cards and other illegal goods announced this week it will no longer allow the sale of the potent opioid fentanyl, The New York Times reports.
Legislators from states that have legalized marijuana are pushing back against a federal crackdown on the drug, led by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
The U.S. Justice Department will crack down on drug addiction treatment centers that have filed bogus insurance claims, Bloomberg reports. The move is part of a major law enforcement action targeting healthcare fraud.
There was an overall decline in the amount of opioids prescribed in the United States between 2010 and 2015, but the quantity of prescriptions is still extremely high, according to a new government report.
A new report finds spending on Medicaid-covered prescriptions for the treatment of opioid use disorder and opioid overdose increased dramatically between 2011 and 2016, according to NPR. The largest increase occurred after 2014.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions voiced support this week for bringing back the anti-drug program D.A.R.E. The program has been criticized for not providing effective results, the New York Daily News reports.
The number of people covered by the health insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield who were diagnosed with an opioid addiction rose almost 500 percent from 2010 to 2016.
Foster-care systems throughout the United States are being overwhelmed by children whose parents are addicted to opioids, according to The Washington Post. The problem is most acute in rural areas.
Dr. Jerome Adams, the nominee to be the next U.S. Surgeon General, has made the opioid epidemic a high priority as Indiana’s Health Commissioner, his supporters say.
Law enforcement officials in Georgia have identified two new strains of the highly potent opioid fentanyl that may be immune to the opioid overdose antidote naloxone, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Inadequate access to opioid addiction treatment programs has led to a thriving black market for Suboxone, the drug that helps patients overcome their addiction, experts tell The Wall Street Journal.
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