Substance Misuse

February 23, 2021 | Model Laws, Public Health, Public Safety, Substance Misuse, Treatments

The Model Recovery Residence Certification Act is designed to implement a voluntary certification process for recovery residences in a state. The purpose of certification is to allow for greater oversight of recovery residences and greater protection of recovery home residents. As currently drafted, the Model Act allows either a state agency designated by the state or an approved certifying organization under contract with the state agency to certify recovery residences under the program outlined in the Act. The Act also addresses the zoning issues that have arisen in local jurisdictions around the country....

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....

November 18, 2020 | Fact Sheets, Public Health, Public Safety, Recovery, Substance Misuse

The first recovery high schools were intended to provide post-treatment services immediately after an adolescent left a residential treatment or outpatient program and continue to evolve. In addition to providing students with an education, recovery high schools’ intense post-treatment services often include: (1) help with focusing on relapse prevention; (2) encouraging compliance with a wide range of social services to provide additional support; (3) teaching problem-solving skills so that students can learn to cope with anger, depression, and anxiety; and (4) providing a non-using social network. Recovery high schools, designed specifically for students recovering from a substance use disorder, also provide ancillary programs to encourage familial involvement in the teen’s recovery. ...

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....

August 19, 2020 | Electronic Health Records, Fact Sheets, Health Data, Recovery, Substance Misuse, Treatments

In the early 1970’s, as part of its efforts to increase treatment for substance use disorder and reduce the stigma surrounding such treatment, the federal government enacted the Drug Abuse Office and Treatment Act of 1972. That Act included a statutory provision for the confidentiality of patient records, now codified at 42 U.S.C. § 290dd-2. This section provides the legal basis for regulations first adopted in 1975 that supplement and expand on the confidentiality provisions of 42 U.S.C. § 290dd-2. These regulations, known colloquially as “42 C.F.R. Part 2” or just “Part 2”, provide increased protection for the records of patients receiving treatment for substance use disorder. Subsequent amendments over the years to both 42 U.S.C. § 290dd-2 and 42 C.F.R. Part 2 served to modernize, clarify, and expand upon the protections granted by the original provisions. This fact sheet provides information about federal laws related to privacy protections for treatment records....

July 15, 2020 | Fact Sheets, Public Health, Public Safety, Recovery, Substance Misuse

With hard to reach populations, one of the most effective engagement strategies is through community outreach. By meeting individuals where they are, community outreach programs can gain their trust and that of the community and provide people with health care, social services, and harm reduction assistance. One popular method of community outreach is through mobile outreach vehicles (MOVs) which usually consist of large vans, trailers, or campers that are customized to provide health care and harm reduction services in targeted communities. A large benefit over brick and mortar clinics is the fact that MOVs are ambulatory and can travel to those who most need services. Additionally, one MOV can service multiple neighborhoods and can travel to targeted areas in the community as drug use patterns emerge. This fact sheet provides information about mobile outreach vans and the services that they provide to at-risk communities....