Prevention Across the Lifespan: Substance Use Education and Screening Services for Older Adults

While older adulthood is a special time of life, it is also a time when older individuals may face health issues and life transitions. It can be a vulnerable time for mental health and can lead to a change in the way people use substances. New York State has the fourth-largest population of older...

Can Medical Cannabis Treat Chronic Pain?

An estimated 20% of adults in the United States experience chronic pain (Zelaya, 2020). For many years, opioid analgesics were the primary medications prescribed for chronic pain, but the significant increase in opioid prescriptions at high doses and for long durations has been associated with...

A State Agency’s Role in Supporting Housing and Employment within Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery

Historically, the substance use disorder (SUD) treatment service delivery system has operated within an episode of care, with separate programs and unrelated options. There has been an evolution towards developing a continuum of care for substance use disorder treatment and recovery services. These...

The Long History and Bright Future of Harm Reduction in New York State

For the past year, the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) has implemented a new division among its pillars of prevention, treatment, and recovery services. The newly formed Division of Harm Reduction seeks to bring both the harm reduction philosophy and its practical...

What Do We Know About the Relationship Between Cannabis and Psychosis?

From 2002 to 2021, the number of individuals aged 12 or older reporting last year cannabis use increased steadily from 26 million to 53 million (SAMHSA, 2022). Accompanying this increase in the number of individuals using cannabis is a decline in the percentage of individuals who believe that...

The Ways That Stigma Hurts People Who Use Substances and How to Help

Stigma hurts, when stigmatizing language is used against those with substance use disorders. In a study by the Recovery Research Institute,1 314 survey respondents were asked to answer questions about two individuals who were using substances. The only difference in the way that the individuals...

Facilitating Trauma-Informed Organizational Change: OASAS Trauma-Informed Care Champions

Last June of 2020, Arlene González-Sánchez, LMSW, Commissioner of the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) announced a partnership with the Institute on Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care (ITTIC) at the University at Buffalo School of Social Work. The goal of the...

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...

Peers as an Effective Strategy for Engaging Individuals with Addictions in Recovery

As New York expands its Recovery Oriented System of Care (ROSC), the utilization of peers within hospital emergency rooms, addiction treatment, and recovery support providers, has demonstrated tremendous value, and opportunities to achieve enhanced engagement and retention of individuals in need of...

Integration: Some Progress and a Need for More

Every contact with a medical provider is an opportunity to help someone address their addiction. And so, it is important for everyone who works in a healthcare setting to recognize addiction, understand the neurobiology, know the standard treatments and be familiar with the resources available...