Category: Addiction
GLP‑1 drugs may fight addiction across every major substance, according to a study of 600,000 people
In the group already struggling with addiction, there were 50% fewer deaths due to substance use among those taking GLP-1 drugs compared with those who were not. We also found 39% fewer overdoses, 26% fewer drug-related hospitalizations and 25% fewer suicide attempts. Over three years, this translated to roughly 12 fewer serious events in total per 1,000 people using GLP-1 drugs – including two fewer deaths.
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The growing fad of ‘microdosing’ mushrooms is leading to an uptick in poison control center calls and emergency room visits
Microdosing involves the ingestion of small quantities of psychoactive mushrooms, less than a regular dose and not in sufficient quantities to induce a “trip” or psychedelic experience, but to boost mood, creativity, concentration or productivity.
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Proposed Federal Cuts Put Rural Behavioral Health Resources on the Line
The proposed FY2026 Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) budget would cut nearly $1 billion and dozens of programs from SAMHSA following a March announcement that SAMHSA would be one of five agencies folded into a new, centralized Administration for a Healthy America. BCOR is one of the grants eliminated in the current budget proposal.
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Medetomidine is replacing xylazine in Philly street fentanyl − creating new hurdles for health care providers and drug users
Kory London, Thomas Jefferson University and Karen Alexander, Thomas Jefferson University Philadelphia’s street opioid supply – or “dope” market –
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Stimulant Users Are Caught in Fatal ‘Fourth Wave’ of Opioid Epidemic
The first wave of the long-running and devastating opioid epidemic began in the United States with the abuse of prescription painkillers in the early 2000s. The second wave involved an increase in heroin use, starting around 2010. The third wave began when powerful synthetic opioids such as fentanyl started appearing in the supply around 2015. Now experts are observing a fourth phase of the deadly epidemic.
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Fentanyl 101
As little as 2 mg of fentanyl (which can fit on the tip of a pencil) can be enough to kill the average American. People can also unknowingly consume fentanyl when it is mixed into or sold as other drugs, including heroin, cocaine, or counterfeit pills.
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Poppy Seed Brew Triggers Morphine Overdose, Drawing Attention of Lawmakers
After eating lemon poppy seed bread or an everything bagel, mothers reportedly have been separated from newborns because the women failed drug tests.
Poppy seeds come from the plant that produces opium and from which narcotics such as morphine and codeine are derived. During harvesting and processing, the seeds can become coated with the opium fluid.
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The Incidental Economist Takes an In-Depth Look at America’s Opioid Crisis
This compilation is a deep dive on the opioid crisis, thanks in part to funding by the NIHCM. Explore the history of opioids, the science of opioids, and learn about how and why attitudes and US policy regarding addiction treatment and opioid control need to change.
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Alcohol use disorder can be treated with an array of medications – but few people have heard of them
While 22% of patients with opioid use disorder receive medications to treat it, the rate of medication treatment for alcohol use disorder is much lower. Less than 10% of people with alcohol use disorder receive any treatment in any year, and less than 3% receive medications for it.
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Binge drinking is a growing public health crisis − a neurobiologist explains new research on alcohol use disorder
Since Amy Winehouse’s death in 2011, professionals have learned a great deal more about alcohol use disorder
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More than 321,000 U.S. children lost a parent to drug overdose from 2011 to 2021
The highest number of affected children were those with non-Hispanic white parents, but communities of color and tribal communities were disproportionately affected.
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Nitazenes found in 5 overdose deaths in Philly – here’s what they are and why they’re so deadly
Researchers have relatively little information on how the human body reacts to nitazenes because the drugs have never gone through clinical trials. But lab tests show certain nitazenes could be hundreds to thousands of times more potent than morphine and 10 to 40 times stronger than fentanyl.
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King County launches ‘bup’ hotline.
Buprenorphine, also called suboxone, is a medication used to treat opioid use disorder. It is one of the best available treatments to alleviate withdrawal, reduce cravings, and reduce overdose risk by about half when taken as directed. It works by binding to the same receptors that opioids like fentanyl bind to, but it only turns them on about halfway. That keeps people from feeling sick and helps with their cravings.
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Oregon’s Drug Decriminalization Aimed to Make Cops a Gateway to Rehab, Not Jail. State Leaders Failed to Make It Work.
Ballot Measure 110, approved by voters in 2020, created a new role for law enforcement in Oregon. While there’s evidence people living with addiction in the state are increasingly finding their way into treatment, the failure to turn police encounters into successful on-ramps to rehab has been cited by critics as prime evidence the measure isn’t working. Oregon lawmakers, noting an ongoing rise in overdose deaths, are now looking to restore jail time for drug possession.
But Oregon’s political leaders themselves played central roles in failing to deliver on the potential for law enforcement to connect people with lifesaving services under the new measure, documents and interviews with a wide array of people involved in the system indicate.
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The roots of the North American opioid crisis, and 3 key strategies for stopping it
The traditional “war on drugs” approach that focuses only on criminalization has been unsuccessful. In reality the data shows that illegal drug prices have fallen whilst purity and deaths have increased. Overdose deaths have also increased in prisons showing that places with even the highest level of security are vulnerable to drug smuggling.Focusing on the opioid crisis through a public-health approach includes massively increasing access to care and treatment for patients experiencing substance use disorder. It requires more evidence-based services such as addiction clinics, psychotherapy harm reduction strategies and education for both patients and families about treatments that are available to them.Beyond initial treatment there should be continued professional social support and a wider national effort to address the socioeconomic causes in disadvantaged communities.
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