Category: Addiction
Public Health — Seattle & King County describes its efforts to reduce overdoses
If you are a King County resident, order online to have free naloxone mailed to any address. It arrives in plain packaging to protect your privacy.
Addiction Treatment May Be Coming to a Pharmacy Near You
new study showed patients who receive the medicine at pharmacies rather than at doctor’s offices stayed in treatment longer.
Alcohol use is widely accepted, but even moderate consumption is associated with many harmful effects
Research increasingly shows that the dangers of alcohol have been downplayed and its benefits exaggerated. In fact, having even one drink a day can have a negative effect on your health.
As Overdose Deaths Rise, Few Emergency Rooms Offer Addiction Help
Medical professionals and addiction treatment advocates have long argued that buprenorphine, which is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, should be available in every emergency room in the country — just like drugs for heart attacks, strokes and diabetic emergencies. And they argue that emergency physicians should have basic training in addiction medicine and be licensed to write a take-home prescription for buprenorphine.
Fentanyl drives jump in overdose deaths in King County, Public Health – Seattle & King County
Fentanyl is now involved in 70% of all confirmed overdose deaths to date in 2022, up from under 10% before 2018.
What long-term opioid use does to your body and brain
The powerful pain-killing effects of opioids have been known for thousands of years. Some people become addicted to them, but most people who take them for pain do not. However, they are tricky drugs with some unexpected effects.
A New Paramedic Policy May Guide Overdose Patients Into Treatment
Administering buprenorphine to overdose patients within 10 minutes after resuscitation quickly alleviates withdrawal symptoms and results in a nearly six-fold increase in patients showing up for treatment within 30 days, a recent study has found.
How Many Is Too Many? When Drinking Becomes a Problem
For some people, a glass of wine, a beer, or a cocktail is an occasional treat. Others struggle to stop at just one or even many drinks. Some may drink alcohol in moderation, but still feel like they’re not in control of their drinking. How do you know if alcohol has become a problem for you?
Methamphetamine Use, Overdose Deaths, and Arrests Soared From 2015 to 2019
From 2015 to 2019, arrests for meth possession increased 59%; the number of people in the U.S. with a methamphetamine-related substance use disorder jumped 37% and overdose deaths involving meth more than doubled.
INTERNATIONAL OVERDOSE AWARENESS DAY: TAKING ACTION TO SAVE LIVES
This year, King County is working with community partners to expand the use of naloxone (also known as Narcan) – a powerful and very safe tool that can save the life of someone experiencing an opioid overdose – and educate the community about available treatments for opioid use disorder.
What is fentanyl and why is it behind the deadly surge in US drug overdoses? A medical toxicologist explains
Buying drugs on the street is a game of Russian roulette. From Xanax to cocaine, drugs or counterfeit pills purchased in nonmedical settings may contain life-threatening amounts of fentanyl.
Seizures of fentanyl-containing pills rise dramatically
The number of individual pills seized by law enforcement increased nearly 50-fold from the first quarter of 2018 to the last quarter of 2021 and the proportion of pills to total seizures more than doubled, with pills representing over a quarter of illicit fentanyl seizures by the end of 2021.
Trying to cut back on alcohol? Here’s what works
Most people successfully quit or cut back their alcohol consumption on their own. But people who drink more frequently are much more likely to have symptoms of dependence and might find it more difficult
States Likely to Resist CDC Proposal Easing Opioid Access
For the eased guidelines to have their intended effect, states would need to amend or repeal existing statutes that limit opioid prescriptions to three to seven days and set ceilings on the daily dose doctors can prescribe.
Thinking about a Dry January? Tips from a UW doc
As New Year’s Day approaches, health-based resolutions are hardly novel. The trend of “Dry January” has gained momentum during the pandemic, with 15% of U.S. adults attempting temporary alcohol abstinence last year.