When people die from overdoses of opioids, whether prescription pain medications or street drugs, it is the suppression of breathing that almost always kills them. The drugs act on neuronal receptors to dull pain, but those in the brain stem also control breathing. When activated, they can signal respiration to slow, and then stop. The […]
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Category: Opioid Crisis
Opioid Epidemic
DEA agents say a huge opioid case ended in a whimper
inAfter two years of painstaking investigation, David Schiller and the rest of the Drug Enforcement Administration team he supervised were ready to move on the biggest opioid distribution case in U.S. history. The team, based out of the DEA’s Denver field division, had been examining the operations of the nation’s largest drug company, McKesson Corp. […]
Keep ReadingIntroducing: Harm Reduction Therapeutics
inIn searching for solutions to today’s ever-troubling opioid crisis, it’s imperative we all work together to develop and execute new strategies. We are thrilled to introduce you to Harm Reduction Therapeutics, a non-profit pharmaceutical company who is working alongside Addictive Disorders Research Foundation to address the opioid crisis with new approaches opioid addiction medications. Harm Reduction […]
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FDAs Approves First Once-Monthly Injectable Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder
inToday we are excited to share an announcement from Indivior about the FDAs approval SUBLOCADE™, which is the first and only once-monthly injectable buprenorphine formulation to treat moderate to severe opioid use disorder. This is a great step in the fight against opioid addiction. Please read on for the full release and information about where […]
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National Strategy to Reduce Opioid Epidemic, an Urgent Public Health Priority
inYears of sustained and coordinated efforts will be required to contain and reverse the harmful societal effects of the prescription and illicit opioid epidemics, which are intertwined and getting worse, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The report, requested by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), says it is […]
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Medications for Opioid Use Disorder: Bridging the Gap in Care
inFor the past two decades, the USA has been in the throes of an opioid crisis marked by a rising number of deaths; in 2016, opioids were responsible for most of the nation’s estimated 64 000 fatal drug overdoses. The problem began with overprescribing of opioid analgesics in the 1990s, which exposed pain patients to the risks of addiction and produced large […]
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We Need More Than $57,000 to Battle Opioid Crisis
inFollowing months of uncertainty, President Trump late last month made good on his promise to declare the opioid epidemic a national emergency. After much talk about fighting the devastating and deadly impact of these highly addictive drugs, the administration is now taking action. It remains unclear exactly what President Trump’s emergency declaration will entail. A […]
Keep ReadingAlternative Treatments, Opioid Epidemic
Marijuana Could Ease Burden of Opioid Addiction
inIn 2014, more people died from drug overdoses than at any other time in U.S. history, with 60% of fatalities involving opioid drugs. Moreover, estimates point to between 26 and 36 million people abusing opioids worldwide, with roughly 2.1 million people in the U.S. suffering from substance use disorders related to prescription opioid pain relievers. […]
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New Mexico and Opioid Solutions
inThe number of annual drug overdose deaths in New Mexico has plateaued amid a series of pioneering policies to combat opioid addiction, including becoming the first state to require law enforcement agencies to provide officers with overdose antidote kits. Other solutions include a prescription monitoring database to prevent dangerous overlapping drug sales; increasingly expanding access […]
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The President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis
inPublished on October 31, 2017, The President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis include recommendations for: Federal Funding and Programs Opioid Addiction Prevention Opioid Addiction Treatment, Overdose Reversal, and Recovery Research and Development As outlined in the October 31 report, the primary goal of the President’s Commission on Combatting Drug Addiction and […]
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