Substance Misuse

March 14, 2023 | Controlled Substances, Model Laws, Opioids, Public Health, Substance Misuse, Treatments

Drafted in partnership with the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University, the Model Substance Use Disorder Treatment In Emergency Settings Act establishes and aligns mechanisms for maximizing emergency medical settings as intervention points for people who experience a substance use-related emergency, people with substance use disorders, and their families. It addresses barriers to implementing protocols in emergency medical settings that would ensure evidence-based treatment of patients with substance use-related emergencies....

March 7, 2023 | Controlled Substances, Fetal and Infant Health, Harm Reduction, Maternal Health, Model Laws, Public Health, Recovery, Substance Misuse, Treatments

The Model Substance Use During Pregnancy and Family Care Plans Act: (1) provides certain protections to pregnant or postpartum women with a substance use disorder so that such individuals are not penalized for receiving medical treatment, including medication(s) to treat the substance use disorder; and (2) establishes that an infant born affected by parental substance use disorder or showing signs of withdrawal is not, by itself, grounds for submitting a report of child abuse or neglect....

February 22, 2023 | Controlled Substances, Harm Reduction, Innovative Initiatives, Naloxone, Opioid Antagonists, Opioids, Prescription Drugs, Public Health, Recovery, Substance Misuse, Treatments

In the beginning of 2022, the West Virginia Drug Intervention Institute, the West Virginia Collegiate Recovery Network, and Marshall University, a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, launched an overdose prevention initiative on every public and private college campus in West Virginia. The program, entitled, “Be The One” focuses on opioid overdose prevention from a bystander’s perspective, encouraging students, staff, and faculty to “be the one” to save a life....

January 17, 2023 | Controlled Substances, Criminal Justice, Harm Reduction, Law Enforcement, Peer Support and Recoery Services, Public Health, Public Safety, Recovery, Substance Misuse, Toolkits, Treatments

This toolkit is for justice and public safety practitioners planning to implement peer support services in law enforcement agencies, court-based programs, community supervision agencies, and correctional settings. Each section of the toolkit offers critical questions to address during the planning and implementation phase, case studies, tools, and resources drawn from the latest research, subject matter experts, and experiences from diverse settings across the United States....

January 6, 2023 | Controlled Substances, Fact Sheets, Fentanyl, Kratom, Marijuana, Methamphetamine, Novel Psychoactive Substances, Opioids, Prescription Drugs, Stimulants, Substance Misuse, Synthetic Drugs

Millions of people throughout the world use social media platforms (or “apps”) that provide an easy avenue to reach a large number of people. Legitimate businesses are not the only ones to use social media apps as a marketing tool. In recent years, drug dealers have turned to such apps to solicit buyers and arrange sales. This fact sheet examines the growing use of social media, by drug suppliers, to surreptitiously advertise to a wide audience, by using apps that offer encrypted or disappearing messages....

December 30, 2022 | Criminal Justice, Harm Reduction, Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), Opioids, Recovery, Reports & Studies, Substance Misuse, Treatments

This document provides jail and prison administrators, program managers, medical staff in correctional settings, and reentry staff with a performance management framework to monitor medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in correctional settings....

December 16, 2022 | Controlled Substances, Harm Reduction, Innovative Initiatives, Opioids, Prescription Drugs, Public Health, Recovery, Substance Misuse, Treatments

In October 2022, Wisconsin’s Department of Health Services (DHS), in conjunction with the state’s department of justice (DOJ) and the Office of Governor Tony Ever announced the launch of the Real Talks campaign to help address the rise in substance use in the state. In recent years, much like the rest of the country, Wisconsin has seen a sizable increase in opioid-related deaths. In fact, between 2018 and 2020, the number of opioid-related deaths increased by 46.7 percent. In addition, alcohol misuse continues to be a problem. Data from DHS indicates that adults in the state rank third in the United States for alcohol use. Real Talks Wisconsin is part of a series of DHS programs aimed at preventing and reducing substance use or abuse within the state. Real Talks discusses community prevention programs and encourages harm reduction programs, such as free access to emergency opioid antagonists....

December 7, 2022 | Controlled Substances, Criminal Justice, Fact Sheets, Opioids, Substance Misuse, Treatments

Withdrawal syndrome occurs in individuals who have developed physiological dependence on a substance and who discontinue or reduce their use of that substance. Individuals who use drugs or alcohol prior to incarceration may experience the onset of withdrawal syndrome while in a correctional setting, leading to illness or death. This fact sheet provides an overview on the management of withdrawal symptoms of individuals in the corrections system....

November 1, 2022 | Controlled Substances, Fact Sheets, Fetal and Infant Health, Maternal Health, Opioids, Substance Misuse, Treatments

There are a number of expert recommendations regarding how to identify, work with, and treat pregnant and postpartum women with SUD to ensure the best outcomes for both parent and child. There are also legal requirements regarding notification to state child welfare agencies of infants born affected by prenatal substance exposure or experiencing withdrawal and the creation of family care plans (also known as plans of safe care). This fact sheet provides readers with an overview of those recommendations and requirements....

September 1, 2022 | Fact Sheets, Novel Psychoactive Substances, Opioids, Public Safety, Stimulants, Substance Misuse, Synthetic Drugs

The Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association is monitoring the emergence of novel psychoactive substances appearing on the illicit drug market in the United States. The term “novel” does not denote a new, never-before-seen substance but rather a substance that is newly available in the drug market. This fact sheet,  examines pyro, a relatively new high potency synthetic opioid increasing in prevalence in the U.S. Pyro belongs to an opioid subclass of NPS called 2-benezylbenzimidazoles, or nitazenes, and is structurally similar to etonitazene, a synthetic opioid that is nationally and internationally controlled. N-pyrrolidino etonitazene is not described or mentioned in any medical literature or patents, meaning that it is a truly “novel” NPS and likely developed independently from the pharmaceutical industry. Researchers believe that N-pyrrolidino etonitazene is coming to the U.S. via purchases on the dark web and is likely being produced in China. N-pyrrolidino etonitazene can be found in powder form or pressed into pills to resemble other substances. Studies estimate that N-pyrrolidino etonitazene is over 800 times more potent than morphine and 20-40 times more potent than fentanyl. Like other opioids, N-pyrrolidino etonitazene use can potentially cause fatal respiratory depression in the person ingesting the drug. However, because...