Harm Reduction

Let’s Talk Meth

March 1, 2022 | Controlled Substances, Harm Reduction, Innovative Initiatives, Methamphetamine, Public Health, Stimulants, Substance Misuse, Treatments

In May of 2019, Sacramento County, California launched the Methamphetamine Coalition, the goal of which is “to identify and implement initiatives addressing the methamphetamine use problem and reducing meth use and its impact [on citizens and the community] in Sacramento County.”...

State Toolkit to End the Nation’s Drug Overdose Epidemic: Leading-Edge Actions and Strategies to Remove Barriers to Evidence-base Patient Care

February 8, 2022 | Controlled Substances, Criminal Justice, Harm Reduction, Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), Naloxone, Opioids, Prescription Drugs, Public Health, Recovery, Substance Misuse, Toolkits, Treatments

The 2022 AMA-Manatt Toolkit builds on a previously published roadmap by providing actionable resources that states can use to take specific actions in six policy areas: (1) Increase access to evidence-based treatments to help patients with a substance use disorder (SUD); (2) Ensure access to addiction medicine, psychiatry, and other trained physicians; (3) Enforce mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) parity laws; (4) Improve access to multidisciplinary, multimodal care for patients with pain; (5) Expand harm reduction efforts to reduce death and disease; and (6) Improve monitoring and evaluation....

Hushabye Nursery

January 18, 2022 | Controlled Substances, Fetal and Infant Health, Harm Reduction, Innovative Initiatives, Maternal Health, Opioids, Prescription Drugs, Public Health, Treatments

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) is steadily increasing. From 2010 to 2017, the number of infants born with the condition increased 82 percent, nationally....

Syringe Services Programs

January 5, 2022 | Fact Sheets, Harm Reduction, Opioids, Public Health, Public Safety, Sharps/Syringes

This Fact Sheet provides readers with an overview of SSPs, including the components that make up a comprehensive SSP and the obstacles encountered by programs and their participants....

Principles for the Use of Funds From the Opioid Litigation

December 10, 2021 | Controlled Substances, Criminal Justice, Harm Reduction, Opioids, Prescription Drugs, Public Health, Recovery, Reports & Studies, Substance Misuse, Treatments

The Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University recently released a three-part report about the multi-district opioid litigation that has been making its way through the court system for many years. Part 1 of the trilogy, focuses on a series of principles governing the use of the settlement funds: (1) spending money to save lives; (2) using evidence to guide spending; (3) investing in youth prevention; (4) focusing on racial equity; and (5) developing a fair and transparent process for deciding where to spend the funding....

Model Syringe Services Program Act

December 7, 2021 | Controlled Substances, Harm Reduction, Model Laws, Opioids, Public Health, Public Safety, Sharps/Syringes, Substance Misuse

The Model Syringe Services Program Act (Act) authorizes the establishment of comprehensive syringe services programs, which are associated with a decrease in bloodborne infectious disease diagnoses as well as the number of needlestick injuries to first responders and others. This Act delineates the required components for syringe services programs operating within a state, including that such programs (1) directly provide, or offer referrals to, expanded services, such as substance use disorder treatment, including medications for addiction treatment, HIV and viral hepatitis testing and treatment services, access to opioid antagonist kits, health care services, and mental health services; (2) reduce needlestick injuries to law enforcement, emergency services personnel, sanitation workers, and members of the community; (3) provide data collection and reporting requirements for syringe services programs; (4) provide immunity from criminal arrest, charge, and prosecution for the possession, distribution, or furnishing of hypodermic needles and syringes and other supplies; (5) provide educational and training materials for members of the community, including law enforcement and other first responders, such as emergency medical services; and (6) provide for funding of syringe services programs....

The Firefly Program

November 8, 2021 | Controlled Substances, Harm Reduction, Innovative Initiatives, Opioids, Prescription Drugs, Public Health, Recovery, Substance Misuse, Treatments

The Tennessee Department of Health reports that opioid use disorder is an extreme threat to mothers in the state. Of the 62 pregnant or post-partum women who died in 2019, approximately 20 of them had a substance use disorder....