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RMIT-led study highlights the urgent need for more drug testing facilities in Australia

Testing of illicit drugs bought online found 35% were not what they said they were, highlighting the urgent need for more local drug testing facilities in Australia to prevent harm and overdose.

5 Mar 2024

Statistical models vs. front-line workers: Who knows best how to spend opioid settlement cash?

In this Gulf Coast city, addiction medicine doctor Stephen Loyd announced at a January event what he called "a game-changer" for state and local governments spending billions of dollars in opioid settlement funds.

5 Mar 2024

How a friend’s death turned Colorado teens into anti-overdose activists

Gavinn McKinney loved Nike shoes, fireworks, and sushi. He was studying Potawatomi, one of the languages of his Native American heritage.

1 Mar 2024

California hospitals, advocates seek stable funding to retain behavioral health navigators

Health providers and addiction experts warn the funding structure is unstable for a California initiative that steers patients with substance use disorder into long-term treatment after they are discharged from emergency rooms, which has already led some critical employees to leave their jobs.

1 Mar 2024

Horse sedative use among humans spreads in deadly mixture of ‘tranq’ and fentanyl

Andrew McClave Jr. loved to lift weights. The 6-foot-4-inch bartender resembled a bodybuilder and once posed for a photo flexing his muscles with former pro wrestler Hulk Hogan.

26 Feb 2024

National survey reveals high exposure to drug overdose deaths among Americans

More than 40% of Americans know someone who has died of a drug overdose and about one-third of those individuals say their lives were disrupted by the death, according to a new RAND study.

21 Feb 2024

Maternal mental illness: An under-recognized contributor to the mortality of new mothers

Painting a sobering picture, a research team led by Children's National Hospital culled years of data demonstrating that maternal mental illness is an under-recognized contributor to the death of new mothers.

21 Feb 2024

‘Fourth wave’ of opioid epidemic crashes ashore, propelled by fentanyl and meth

The United States is knee-deep in what some experts call the opioid epidemic's "fourth wave," which is not only placing drug users at greater risk but is also complicating efforts to address the nation's drug problem.

21 Feb 2024

Study reveals racial disparities in access to buprenorphine for opioid use disorder

Buprenorphine, a life-saving medication for opioid use disorder, is far less accessible in geographic areas of the United States with racially and ethnically diverse populations than in predominantly white areas, according to a new study of pre-pandemic data led by health policy scientists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health published today in Journal of Addiction Medicine.

20 Feb 2024

California prison drug overdoses surge again after early treatment success

Drug overdose deaths in California state prisons rebounded to near record levels last year even as corrections officials touted the state's intervention methods as a model for prisons and jails across the United States.

14 Feb 2024

New guidelines set safer standards for dental pain relief

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) taken alone or along with acetaminophen are recommended as first-line treatments for managing short-term dental pain in adults and adolescents aged 12 or older, according to a new clinical practice guideline developed by the American Dental Association (ADA), the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine and the Center for Integrative Global Oral Health at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine.

6 Feb 2024

Expert calls for harm reduction to address drug overdose crisis

With more than 100,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States in one year, communities need more than 'just say no' drug prevention education and abstinence-only addiction treatment to save lives, an expert has warned.

6 Feb 2024

Study says parents may overshoot fluoride toothpaste dose for toddlers, risking dental fluorosis

Study finds parents significantly overdose children with fluoride toothpaste, suggesting a shift to fluoride-free alternatives to prevent overconsumption and potential fluorosis.

1 Feb 2024

Pitt secures $7.8 million grant to improve quality of care for patients with opioid use disorder

The University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy's Program Evaluation and Research Unit (PERU) has received a five-year, $7.8 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to improve quality of care for patients with opioid use disorder across Pennsylvania.

30 Jan 2024

Female sex hormone estradiol makes women more susceptible to cocaine addiction

Previous studies focused on cocaine use have found that women are more likely than men to develop an addiction, try cocaine at a younger age, use larger amounts of the drug, and suffer from overdose.

30 Jan 2024

Federal lawmakers take first steps toward oversight of $50 billion in opioid settlements

Some members of Congress are demanding federal oversight of billions of dollars in opioid settlements, which state and local governments began spending over the past two years — with some using it to plug budget holes rather than fight the addiction crisis.

22 Jan 2024

Michigan disbands racial equity group as tension mounts over opioid settlement money

An advisory group formed to help Michigan tackle high rates of opioid overdoses in communities of color has been disbanded by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's administration, leading to hard feelings among some members who say their work is being buried.

19 Jan 2024

Planning prompts show promise in improving prescribing safety

Physicians who are notified that a patient has died of a drug overdose are more judicious in issuing controlled substances if the notification includes a plan for what to do during subsequent patient visits, according to a study published today in Nature Communications.

13 Jan 2024

Access to residential addiction treatment centers for U. S. adolescents is limited and costly

Access to residential addiction treatment centers caring for U.S. adolescents under 18 years old in the United States is limited and costly, according to a new study supported by the National Institutes of Health.

9 Jan 2024

Doctors are as vulnerable to addiction as anyone. California grapples with a response.

Ariella Morrow, an internal medicine doctor, gradually slid from healthy self-esteem and professional success into the depths of depression.

4 Jan 2024

Overdose News and Research

RMIT-led study highlights the urgent need for more drug testing facilities in Australia

Statistical models vs. front-line workers: Who knows best how to spend opioid settlement cash?

How a friend’s death turned Colorado teens into anti-overdose activists

California hospitals, advocates seek stable funding to retain behavioral health navigators

Horse sedative use among humans spreads in deadly mixture of ‘tranq’ and fentanyl

National survey reveals high exposure to drug overdose deaths among Americans

Maternal mental illness: An under-recognized contributor to the mortality of new mothers

‘Fourth wave’ of opioid epidemic crashes ashore, propelled by fentanyl and meth

Study reveals racial disparities in access to buprenorphine for opioid use disorder

California prison drug overdoses surge again after early treatment success

New guidelines set safer standards for dental pain relief

Expert calls for harm reduction to address drug overdose crisis

Study says parents may overshoot fluoride toothpaste dose for toddlers, risking dental fluorosis

Pitt secures $7.8 million grant to improve quality of care for patients with opioid use disorder

Female sex hormone estradiol makes women more susceptible to cocaine addiction

Federal lawmakers take first steps toward oversight of $50 billion in opioid settlements

Michigan disbands racial equity group as tension mounts over opioid settlement money

Planning prompts show promise in improving prescribing safety

Access to residential addiction treatment centers for U. S. adolescents is limited and costly

Doctors are as vulnerable to addiction as anyone. California grapples with a response.

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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