Newsroom
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northjersey.com - New Jersey says doctors must prescribe Narcan alongside opioids for at-risk patients
Posted 5/22/2020
For the duration of the coronavirus crisis, doctors, dentists and other healthcare workers who prescribe opioids to patients with chronic pain may now have to prescribe an overdose-reversal drug alongside it. Announced Thursday by New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, the rule demands healthcare practitioners prescribe naloxone, commonly known by its brand name Narcan, to those regularly taking higher doses of opioids or combining opioids with benzodiazepines, which include anti-anxiety medications like Xanax.
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wellbeingtrust.org - New WBT & Robert Graham Center Analysis: The COVID Pandemic Could Lead to 75,000 Additional Deaths from Alcohol and Drug Misuse and Suicide
Posted 5/12/2020
Oakland, Calif. (May 8, 2020) – Alongside the thousands of deaths from COVID-19, the growing epidemic of “deaths of despair” is increasing due to the pandemic—as many as 75,000 more people will die from drug or alcohol misuse and suicide, according to new research released by Well Being Trust (WBT) and the Robert Graham Center for Policy Studies in Family Medicine and Primary Care.
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nj.com - A crisis within a crisis: People addicted to opioids must still get treatment during the pandemic
Posted 5/11/2020
Before the coronavirus pandemic, America was making hard-won progress in the fight against opioid use disorder and overdose deaths. Heartbreakingly, COVID-19 is now erasing those gains and taking deadly aim at the vulnerable population of persons struggling with opioid use disorder.
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psychcongress.com - Study: NJ Patient Notification Act Paying Dividends
Posted 4/30/2020
A New Jersey law enacted in 2017 that requires practitioners to discuss opioid pain medications’ potential for addiction with patients and to also discuss non-opioid alternatives when available appears to be making an impact, according to research released last week.
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nj.com: After spike in overdose, suicide calls, N.J. police department says you can still get help
Posted 4/17/2020
By Tennyson Donnie Coleman | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Mount Olive Police say they have seen an "uptick” in drug overdoses and suicide calls in the days since New Jersey implemented lockdowns due to COVID-19. And social distancing can be a “death sentence” for people who are already drug users, some recovery and harm reduction advocates say.
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businessinsider.com: People who vape show DNA changes similar to smokers and that are linked to cancer
Posted 3/7/2020
Just 6.1% of British vapers in 2019 had never smoked, according to UK government research.
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people.com: Michigan Teen Who Nearly Died From Vaping Creates Foundation To Warn Other Kids of Dangers
Posted 2/16/2020
After undergoing a double lung transplant, Daniel Ament wants to spread awareness to teens about the true harm of vaping
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cnn.com: This Ohio county may need a second morgue to handle the number of fentanyl overdoses
Posted 2/13/2020
(CNN)If overdose deaths don't slow down in Franklin County, Ohio, a temporary morgue may be needed to store the bodies. The county has seen 23 overdose deaths from January 31 to February 7, Dr. Anahi Ortiz, the county's coroner, said in a statement on her Facebook page. The next day, the county had five more.
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More Than 100 Billion Doses of Opioid Pills Were Shipped Between 2006 and 2014
Posted 1/16/2020
Data collected by the Drug Enforcement Administration shows more than 100 billion doses of oxycodone and hydrocodone were shipped nationwide between 2006 and 2014, The Washington Post reports.
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washingtonpost.com: ‘It only took one pill’: How addiction starts
Posted 12/26/2019
The road to Paul Little’s addiction began during a hard day at work. He took one pill to ease a headache, which turned into nine-month habit. “I got up to 20 to 30 Percocets a day,” the former Air Force doctor said. “I was eating them like M&Ms.” Kathy Thomas took opioids for two years until a doctor told her she was being unnecessarily medicated. She still lives with the psychological consequences.