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Heroin is a very addictive chemical called diacetylmorphine. Heroin is a modified form of morphine, a highly abundant opium derived from the seedpods of the poppy plant.

Study finds high rates of illicit drug use in young adults who experienced sudden cardiac death

Approximately one-third of young adults in Victoria, Australia, who experienced sudden cardiac deaths (SCDs) outside of a hospital setting from April 2019 to April 2021 used illegal drugs prior to their fatal events, reports a new study in Heart Rhythm, the official journal of the Heart Rhythm Society, the Cardiac Electrophysiology Society, and the Pediatric & Congenital Electrophysiology Society, published by Elsevier.

27 Jul 2023

The painful legacy of ‘law and order’ treatment of addiction in jail

Megan Dunn, who has struggled with addiction since her teens, points to the moment her life went "deeply downhill."

19 Jul 2023

Opioid addiction linked to neural differences in response to drug cues

An Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai study sheds new light on some of the underlying neurobiological mechanisms of opioid addiction, which accounted for three-quarters of the more than 100,000 fatal drug overdoses in the United States in 2021.

18 Jul 2023

Opioid overdose deaths may be reduced by increasing access to prescription opioid painkillers

Increasing access to prescription opioid painkillers may reduce opioid overdose deaths in the United States, according to a Rutgers study.

27 Jun 2023

Race- and gender-specific interventions may be more effective at preventing overdose deaths

Interventions to address stimulant and opioid use that consider race and gender may prove more effective at preventing overdose deaths than current methods, according to a Penn State-led team of researchers who studied how drug treatment admissions and overdose deaths differed among race and gender.

26 Jun 2023

Xylazine can exacerbate the life-threatening effects of opioids, rat study shows

A new study in rats suggests that xylazine, the active ingredient in a non-opioid veterinary tranquilizer not approved for human use, can worsen the life-threatening effects of opioids.

21 Jun 2023

Males are significantly more vulnerable than females to overdose deaths

Men were significantly more vulnerable than women to overdose deaths involving opioid and stimulant drugs in 2020-2021, according to a new study analyzing death records data from across the United States. The study found that men had a 2–3 times greater rate of overdose mortality from opioids (like fentanyl and heroin) and psychostimulants (like methamphetamine and cocaine).

15 Jun 2023

Police drug seizures associated with increase in fatal overdoses

For decades, efforts by police to seize illicit drugs have been a cornerstone strategy for disrupting drug markets and removing drugs from communities. But there's an unintended outcome when opioids are seized, a new study finds - increases in overdoses, including those that are fatal.

12 Jun 2023

Recovery from addiction is a journey. There’s no one-and-done solution.

The atmosphere inside the Allen House is easygoing as residents circulate freely through the hallways, meet in group sessions, or gather on a large outdoor patio that features a dirt volleyball court with an oversize net.

6 Jun 2023

California confronts the threat of ‘tranq’ as overdose crisis rages

When the city's medical examiner announced in February that four people who had recently died of overdoses had the animal sedative xylazine in their systems, public health workers across the state sprang into action.

5 Jun 2023

Death of a 43-year-old male marks the entry of 'zombie' drug into the UK

The death of a 43-year-old male is the first in the UK to be associated with Xylazine and marks the entry of the drug into the UK drug supply.

26 May 2023

California’s fentanyl problem is getting worse

California has allocated more than $1 billion in recent years to combat its opioid crisis. Much of the money has been used to distribute fentanyl test strips and the overdose reversal drug naloxone, as well as deliver medical care to people who are homeless.

23 May 2023

New Jersey's Medicaid reforms spurred increases in buprenorphine prescriptions to combat opioid addiction

Reforms to New Jersey's Medicaid program successfully spurred ongoing increases in buprenorphine prescriptions for the treatment of opioid addiction, according to a Rutgers analysis.

19 May 2023

Legal pot is more potent than ever — and still largely unregulated

Marijuana and other products containing THC, the plant's main psychoactive ingredient, have grown more potent and more dangerous as legalization has made them more widely available.

9 May 2023

New research to measure the impact of overdose prevention centers in the United States

NYU Langone Health and Brown University's School of Public Health today announced a grant award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health, to conduct research to measure the impact of some of the first publicly recognized overdose prevention centers (OPCs) in the United States, located in New York City and Providence, Rhode Island.

8 May 2023

Researchers identify a potential safer route to pain relief

Strategies to treat pain without triggering dangerous side effects such as euphoria and addiction have proven elusive.

4 May 2023

Pain, hope, and science collide as athletes turn to magic mushrooms

The boxer felt broken. Every day, he was waking up in pain. Some days, it was debilitating headaches. Other times, it was his back. Or his fists. His ribs. His nose. On top of that, he had mood swings. Depression. Anxiety.

24 Apr 2023

MIP Discovery announces drugs of abuse reagent launch

MIP Discovery, a leader in rationally designed detection reagents based on its proprietary nanoMIP technology, in response to the growing synthetic opioid crisis has announced the launch of its first drugs of abuse products which are able to recognize norfentanyl, the main urinary metabolite of fentanyl.

From MIP Discovery 4 Apr 2023

Buprenorphine can be safely started in the ER without triggering withdrawal even for people using stronger opioids

Results from a multi-site clinical trial supported by the National Institutes of Health showed that less than 1% of people with opioid use disorder whose drug use includes fentanyl experienced withdrawal when starting buprenorphine in the emergency department.

30 Mar 2023

Study reveals dramatic rise in drug overdose fatalities among older adults in the past two decades

Overdose mortality among people age 65 and older quadrupled over 20 years, suggesting the need for greater mental health and substance use disorder policies addressed at curbing the trend, a new research paper finds.

29 Mar 2023