Controlled Substances

April 19, 2021 | Fact Sheets, Fentanyl, Opioids, Public Health, Public Safety, Synthetic Drugs

After domestic production of methamphetamine increased significantly in the 1990s, federal and state authorities took action to address the hazardous conditions left behind in meth labs. Congress passed legislation directing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to establish meth decontamination guidelines based on the best available scientific knowledge. Today, the synthetic opioid fentanyl and its analogues cause over twice as many overdose deaths in the United States yearly as meth. Its effects, though similar to morphine or heroin, are 50 to 100 times more powerful, making even small amounts dangerous to users and bystanders alike. Despite this, as of 2021, the scale of federal and state action on fentanyl cleanup is not comparable to that historically taken against meth labs. Fentanyl is a relative newcomer to the scene of illicit drugs in the United States, so scientific authorities and policymakers have had less time to address the issue of clean up. In the interim, the lack of authoritative guidance and policy creates risks, as outlined in this fact sheet....

March 21, 2021 | Controlled Substances, Fact Sheets, Opioids, Prescription Drugs, Public Health, Public Safety, Substance Misuse, Synthetic Drugs

New psychoactive substances (NPS) are “substances of abuse, either in pure form or a preparation, that are not controlled by [international drug conventions], but which may pose a public health threat.” The term “new” (or “novel” in some publications) does not denote a brand new, never-before-seen substance, but a substance that is newly available in the drug market. NPS is a catch-all phrase that includes substances like bath salts, synthetic cannabinoids, synthetic opioids, synthetic cathinones, and other drugs of abuse that are not currently scheduled or controlled. This fact sheet provides general information about new and emerging drugs of abuse....

February 24, 2021 | Controlled Substances, Fact Sheets, Public Health, Public Safety, Recovery, Substance Misuse

This fact sheet provides information about the Pay for Success Funding Initiatives, which involve, at a minimum, four parties: (1) the service provider/social program; (2) an investor or investors; (3) an independent evaluator; and (4) a traditional funder or “outcomes payor,” usually a branch of federal, state, or local government....

February 11, 2021 | Controlled Substances, Health Data, Model Laws, Public Health, Public Safety

The Model Overdose Fatality Review Teams Act creates a legislative framework for establishing county-level, multidisciplinary overdose fatality review (OFR) teams in individual states. While overdose deaths occur nationally, OFRs established at the local level allow for the identification of and responses to specific local patterns related to drug overdoses. This model act addresses the duties, responsibilities, and composition of OFR teams in order for them to properly examine and understand the circumstances leading up to a fatal overdose....

January 13, 2021 | Controlled Substances, Fact Sheets, Pharmacy, Public Health, Public Safety, Substance Misuse

While no set definition for polypharmacy exists, it is generally defined as the concurrent use of several prescribed medicines. Medical studies vary in how many simultaneous prescriptions qualify as polypharmacy, but many researchers set the threshold at five or more different prescription medications per day. In some cases, polypharmacy can lead to duplicate prescriptions or contraindicated prescribed drug combinations which may result from poor communication between an individual’s health care provider(s) and pharmacy or the patient’s own lack of understanding and knowledge. As people age, they have an increased chance of developing chronic conditions and comorbidities. Not surprisingly, elderly  individuals in the United States are the likeliest cohort of adults to take multiple medications daily to treat or manage one or more medical conditions; this is referred to as “polypharmacy.” Research suggests that over half of elderly individuals report taking four or more prescription drugs, compared to only about one-third of adults aged 50-64, and one-in-ten of adults aged 18-49. This fact sheet provides information about Polypharmacy, which can have many serious adverse effects, particularly in the elderly population....

August 27, 2020 | Controlled Substances, Innovative Initiatives, Public Health, Public Safety, Recovery, Substance Misuse

The CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Streets) mobile crisis intervention program responds to non-police emergencies in the cities of Eugene and Springfield, Oregon. CAHOOTS teams are staffed by a medic and a mental health crisis worker, and receive over 500 hours of training, which includes education on de-escalation and crisis intervention. ...

August 26, 2020 | Controlled Substances, Criminal Justice, Law Enforcement, Opioids, Prescription Drugs, Public Safety, Reports & Studies, Substance Misuse

The Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics recently released statistical briefs on selected policies and procedures of local police departments and sheriffs’ offices, based on data from BJS’s 2016 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey. The tables show national estimates and distributions by population served on topics such as average hours of officer training by type of training, written community-policing plans, annual operating budgets, written directives for officer conduct, written documentation for officers’ display or discharge of firearms, authorized less-lethal techniques and restraints, and requirements for external investigations of deaths or use of force....

May 19, 2020 | Controlled Substances, Fact Sheets, Law Enforcement, Opioids, Public Safety, Substance Misuse

High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) is a federal program administered by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Executive Office of the President, that provides resources to federal, state, local, and tribal agencies to coordinate activities addressing drug trafficking in more than 30 areas of the country. The Washington / Baltimore HIDTA developed ODMAP in the fall of 2016 and launched it as a pilot program in West Virginia and Maryland in January 2017. ODMAP is a mapping application tied to a database containing overdose incident information. W/B HIDTA provides no cost access to ODMAP to federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, other licensed first responders, criminal justice personnel, emergency room and hospital personnel, and other public health entities serving the interests of public safety and public health. The primary purposes of ODMAP include: (1) to provide near real-time surveillance of known or suspected overdose incidents across the United States and its territories; and (2) to support public safety and public health efforts to collaborate and mobilize immediate responses to a sudden increase or spike in overdose incidents. This fact sheet provides basic information about ODMAP. ...