Substance Abuse

October 24, 2024 | Emergency Departments, Harm Reduction, Innovative Initiatives, Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), Public Health, Recovery, Substance Abuse, Treatments

To complement the opioid prescribing guidelines that the University of Buffalo Department of Emergency Medicine established in 2016, Dr. Joshua Lynch developed the Medication for Addiction Treatment and Electronic Referrals (MATTERS) program. He saw the need for MATTERs because the “window of opportunity” to help someone with a substance use disorder is small, and he wanted to immediately link a patient who had overdosed to a treatment program that is right for that individual....

October 17, 2024 | First Responders, Harm Reduction, Model Laws, Naloxone, Opioid Antagonists, Opioid Antagonists, Recovery, Substance Abuse, Treatments

The key elements of the Model Overdose Reversal Agents Act are to: (1) remove all existing restrictions about who can receive, possess, store, transfer without cost, or administer an ORA such that any “person or entity” is eligible; (2) require specified individuals and entities to offer ORAs to individuals at increased risk of overdose; (3) require emergency access to ORAs at specified locations for use by any individual; (4) provide guidelines for ORA sales, in particular sales of non-prescription ORAs; (6) grant broad immunity to people or entities for prescribing, dispensing, giving, donating, transferring without charge, selling, or administering ORAs in the absence of gross negligence, malice, or criminal intent; (7) identify the required content for educational information about ORAs and specify when that information must be disseminated; (8) require Medicaid and other health insurance coverage for ORAs, including non-prescription ORAs, and prohibit discriminatory life and health insurance practices; and (9) create a bulk overdose reversal agent purchasing fund to assist persons and entities to fulfill requirements under the Act....

October 7, 2024 | Controlled Substances, Fact Sheets, Fentanyl, Novel Psychoactive Substances, Opioids, Substance Abuse

In this fact sheet the Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association (LAPPA) discusses the emergence of  "tusi," which is also known as pink cocaine. Tusi is a group of psychedelic drugs common amongst clubgoers, dyed pink, that actually rarely contains cocaine. While tusi itself is not controlled under the Controlled Substances Act, its individual components like ketamine and fentanyl often are, and because users rarely know what is in the particular mix they are ingesting, they cannot anticipate the side effects....

October 2, 2024 | Harm Reduction, Innovative Initiatives, Naloxone, Opioid Antagonists, Opioid Antagonists, Recovery, Substance Abuse

In 2018, the city of Chicago, IL gained an ally in the fight against fatal overdoses and substance use disorder in the non-profit organization, To Walk in My Shoes. Co-founded by Marnell Brown, a person in long term recovery, To Walk in My Shoes provides resources and support for those in need in the community. In addition to providing individuals with job skills training, including interview practice and how to write a resume, money management skills, and conflict resolution skills, To Walk in My Shoes also works to raise awareness about and provide testing for HIV/AIDS....

September 24, 2024 | Controlled Substances, Criminal Justice, Harm Reduction, Law Enforcement, Opioids, Prescription Drugs, Public Health, Public Safety, Recovery, Substance Abuse, Toolkits

The Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association (LAPPA), in partnership with the Institute for Intergovernmental Relations, developed several resources related to overdose fatality review (OFR), including a complete summary of state OFR laws, a guide on how OFR teams can obtain information from the Indian Health Service, and a guide on how OFR teams can obtain information from the Veterans Health Administration....

July 12, 2024 | Fact Sheets, Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), Novel Psychoactive Substances, Opioids, Recovery, Substance Abuse, Treatments

In this fact sheet the Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association (LAPPA) details the changes to the "primary diagnosis other than OUD" regulation. The fact sheet also covers the federal regulatory scheme for methadone for OUD and explains what led SAMHSA to revise its regulations. ...

June 28, 2024 | Controlled Substances, Fetal and Infant Health, Legal & Legislative Research, Maternal Health, Opioids, Prescription Drugs, Substance Abuse, Treatments

In this document, the Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association (LAPPA) examines state-level statutes and regulations related to substance use during pregnancy and whether such use during pregnancy is considered child abuse or neglect in the jurisdiction. ...

May 12, 2024 | Emergency Departments, First Responders, Harm Reduction, Innovative Initiatives, Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), Opioid Antagonists, Opioid Antagonists, Opioids, Public Health, Recovery, Substance Abuse, Treatments

Paramedics in the State of New Jersey are permitted to carry and administer buprenorphine to treat acute withdrawal symptoms after having had an opioid overdose reversed with naloxone. The directive, via Executive Order from the State Health Commissioner, simply added buprenorphine to the list of medications available to paramedics in the MICUs and required officials in each county to train paramedics on the protocol. ...