-
The Opioid Epidemic: Helping Communities in Crisis
The opioid epidemic has impacted our families, friends, and communities. The New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) estimates that 1 in 13 New York State residents suffer from a substance abuse disorder.1 Among NYS residents, the number of overdose deaths involving any...
-
The NYSPA Report: Overdose Prevention Centers Keep Our People Alive
People with opioid use disorder (OUD) have a high prevalence of a serious mental illness (SMI). Nearly 27% of people with an OUD had a co-occurring SMI (Jones and McCance-Katz 2019), which complicates care when access to dual diagnosis treatment is limited. Overdose deaths have steadily increased...
-
U.S. Law Enforcement Seizures of Pills Containing Fentanyl Increased Dramatically Between 2018-2021
Law enforcement seizures of pills containing illicit fentanyl increased dramatically between January 2018 and December 2021, according to a new study. 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...
-
The Department of Health and Human Services Announces Funding for Substance Use Treatment and Prevention Programs
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), is announcing two grant programs totaling $25.6 million that will expand access to medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder and prevent the misuse of...
-
Opioid Addiction Wears Many Different Faces
Opioid addiction wears many different faces. It is time to open the door to stop the epidemic of people addicted to opioids. Some people going into surgery come out needing medication for pain. In a book by Arwen Podesta, MD, called Hooked: a Concise Guide to the Underlying Mechanics of Addiction...
-
Taking a Holistic Approach to Treating Opioid Addiction
Opioid overdoses led to more than 33,000 deaths in the U.S. in 2015—an average of 91 per day, according to the Centers for Disease Control. That national death toll is the “equivalent to America enduring another 9/11 attack every two-and-a-half weeks,” says New Jersey governor Chris...
-
Pain and Its Impact on the Opioid Epidemic
In several past articles on the opioid epidemic in America, I have complained that the problem of severe, chronic pain has been overlooked as a contributing factor. It appears that that is no longer true. For example, a very recent report by the National Academies of Science to the Food and Drug...
-
New York State Expands Services to Combat Addiction and Address the Opioid Epidemic
In September, we marked Recovery Month, the annual observance dedicated to increasing awareness of substance use and mental health disorders. We also celebrate people in recovery, and their successes. And thanks to all the great work we are doing in New York State, we are seeing more and more of...
-
Medication-Assisted Treatment: An Effective Yet Underused Intervention for Treating Opioid Use Disorder
The United States is in the midst of a public health crisis. Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a chronic medical condition of epidemic proportions, yet one of the most promising, evidence-based treatments for OUD is underused. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration...
-
Leveraging Technology in Enhancing Opioid Care: How NYC Well is Providing Vital Connections and Support
In 2016, New York City lost, on average, between three to four people per day to drug overdoses, with approximately 80% of these overdose deaths involving an opioid. The number of deaths resulting from opioid overdoses in 2016 exceeded the number of deaths from car accidents and homicides combined...
