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Polysubstance Use Is Rewriting the Rules of Addiction Medicine
Key Takeaways: Fentanyl increasingly contains sedative adulterants like xylazine and medetomidine, plus stimulants, which is complicating standard opioid use disorder treatment protocols. Xylazine's own withdrawal syndrome and its masking of opioid withdrawal signs are pushing providers...
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Medication-Assisted Treatment on the Ground: How Federal Policy Shifts Are Reshaping Outreach in Brooklyn
Opioid use remains a significant public health threat in the United States, with nearly 80,000 opioid‑involved overdoses reported in 2023—accounting for 76% of all overdoses that year (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2025). As Substance Use Disorder (SUD) continues to affect more...
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When Opioid Narratives Become Policy
For more than a decade, US opioid policy has been guided by a compelling but incomplete story: aggressive pharmaceutical marketing and overprescribing by physicians flooded communities with addictive pills, igniting an epidemic of opioid use disorder (OUD) and death. This narrative drove sweeping...
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Substance Use Disorders: Supporting Individuals in Early Recovery Through Peer-Led Services
The first days and weeks of recovery from a substance use disorder are among the most precarious in any individual’s health journey. Detoxification has been completed, the immediate crisis has passed, and now the real work begins: rebuilding a life without substances. Yet this is precisely when...
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NIH Researchers Discover Pain-Relieving Drug with Minimal Addictive Properties
Positive safety profile of novel drug compound is surprise for class of synthetic opioids shelved years ago. Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have identified a novel, highly potent opioid that shows potential as a therapy for both pain and opioid use disorder. In a study...
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Recovery Works When Coverage Does: The Lifesaving Impact of Medicare’s IOP Expansion
Closing a Critical Coverage Gap in Medicare In 2024, following stalwart efforts by Congress, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, providers, advocacy organizations, and directly-impacted communities alike, Medicare closed a gap in its addiction treatment coverage by adding a benefit...
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Treating Opioid Addiction in Jails Improves Treatment Engagement, Reduces Overdose Deaths and Reincarceration
NIH-funded study demonstrates life-saving potential of providing medications for opioid use disorder in carceral settings. A study supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) finds that individuals who received medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) while incarcerated were...
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Methadone Offers Hope, Not Harm
For more than a decade, I’ve been caring for patients who struggle with opioid addiction and have seen firsthand the devastating toll it takes on their lives. For many, medications for addiction treatment, including methadone, have given them their lives back. Yet, I see time and again the...
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AI Screening for Opioid Use Disorder Associated With Fewer Hospital Readmissions
NIH-supported clinical trial shows AI tools are as effective as healthcare providers in generating referrals to addiction specialists. An artificial intelligence (AI)-driven screening tool, developed by a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded research team, successfully identified...
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Expand Harm Reduction Services to Address Impact of Overdose Crisis on Older Adults
The devastating impact of the overdose crisis in the United States has been well-documented, affecting people from all backgrounds, demographics, and geographic regions. The data tells us that one age group in particular has been overlooked in the overdose crisis – older adults. The rate...
