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.
A hospital emergency room in New Jersey has started a program that treats most patients without opioids before considering using them. In the first two months, 75 percent of the 300 patients have gone through the program did not need opioids, according to the Associated Press.
President Obama on Wednesday commuted the sentences of 61 federal prisoners incarcerated for drug offenses. He has now commuted the sentences of 248 prisoners, more than the total commuted by the last six presidents combined.
Top headlines of the week from Friday, March 25- Thursday, March 31, 2016.
Changes in health care insurance with the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has left many parents wondering how to get their grown children covered and into treatment.
President Obama said Tuesday more attention is being paid to addiction as a health issue now that it is seen as an increasing threat to white communities, The Washington Post reports.
State legislatures should require doctors to use state-run databases that track patients’ history of opioid and sedative prescriptions, according to a report by the advocacy group Shatterproof. Earlier this month, the White House sent letters to governors recommending they require doctors to check the databases before prescribing these drugs, the Associated Press reports.
A new poll finds 43 percent of Americans say they have a relative or close friend with a substance use issue, and 62 percent say at least one type of substance use is a serious problem in their community, the Associated Press reports.
Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School are testing a wearable device that may help track drug addiction relapses.
President Obama will announce his administration’s plans to improve access to drug treatment at the 2016 National Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit on Tuesday, USA Today reports.
The Food and Drug Administration is urging makers of generic drugs to redesign opioid painkillers to make them abuse-deterrent, according to HealthDay.
Expanding access to Medicaid in 20 states that have not done so under the Affordable Care Act could help the estimated 1.9 million people living in those states who have a mental illness or substance use disorder, a new report concludes.
Almost all physicians who write prescriptions for opioid painkillers exceed the federally recommended three-day dosage limit, according to a survey by the National Safety Council.
A measure designed to protect babies born to mothers who used opioids during pregnancy was introduced in the U.S. House on Wednesday, Reuters reports. A similar bill moved to the Senate floor last week.
Young transgender women are more likely than the general U.S. population to be affected by mental health issues such as addiction and depression, a new study suggests.
Most teens who have gone through the juvenile detention center in Chicago have been diagnosed with drug or alcohol abuse or dependency at some point in their lives, a new study finds.
New York City officials report a large influx of the synthetic opioid fentanyl, according to The Wall Street Journal. Fentanyl is 30 to 50 times more powerful than heroin.
Top headlines of the week from Friday, March 18- Thursday, March 24, 2016.
A new study suggests many patients who are taking a high dose of opioid medication to treat chronic pain are willing to taper off their medication if they are given guidance in how to cope with pain without drugs.
The Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday it will require immediate-release opioid painkillers to carry a “black box” warning about the risk of misuse, abuse, addiction, overdose and death, CNN reports.
Representative Elijah Cummings of Maryland criticized the maker of the opioid overdose antidote naloxone Tuesday for increasing the price of the drug as demand has increased. He spoke at the Full House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing on the heroin epidemic.
A commission appointed by President Obama and Congress urged the federal government to increase protections for drug-affected babies, Reuters reports.
An increasing number of veterans are treating their post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with marijuana, according to the Associated Press.
A new study finds states that require people convicted of drunk driving to install ignition interlock devices in their vehicles have lower rates of alcohol-related crash deaths compared with states that don’t require the devices.
A proposal that would allow patients being treated for addiction to consent to disclose their records to the healthcare system affiliated with their provider is spurring a debate about privacy, according to NPR.
New York has become the second state to require electronic prescribing, in an effort to combat the opioid addiction epidemic. Minnesota has required e-prescribing since 2011, Marketwatch reports.
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