Delaware County Tracking Substance Use Through Sewage [Video]
Alex Buben from Biobot Analytics discusses the wastewater-based monitoring program for high-risk substances.
Over-the-counter sales of Narcan to begin this week
By Lindsey Theis The purple pinwheel in Michelle Leopold’s front yard symbolizes overdose awareness. She’s a “tough mother” fighting against fentanyl. Her first-born son Trevor died when he was only 18 years old in his dorm room, after taking what he believed to be an oxycodone pill that was, unbeknownst to him, laced with fentanyl. Leopold…
The Fentanyl Crisis – how it affected Greenbrae parents Michelle and Jeff Leopold
by Dan Pine / excerpted from JWeekly The parents of Greenbrae teen Trevor Leopold said their son resisted help when it came to drug use. Michelle and Jeff Leopold watched helplessly as Trevor became a habitual cannabis user two years after his bar mitzvah at Congregation Rodef Sholom in San Rafael. The drug caused violent…
The Medical Board of California publishes new guidelines on prescribing opioids for pain
California Medical Association The Medical Board of California recently published a long-awaited update to its opioid prescribing guidelines, which will make it easier for patients to get the care they need while maintaining appropriate safeguards. Importantly, the medical board has clarified that the guidelines are not intended to replace a physician’s clinical judgment and individualized, patient-centered…
Marin Voice: New campaign tackles county’s fentanyl crisis
By Matt Willis and Vikki Garrod Every five to six days we lose a Marin resident to an accidental overdose. This is more than twice the rate of five years ago. The primary driver? Fentanyl. The public health crisis of overdose in Marin demands urgent action and community-wide strategies. We learned from our COVID-19 response…
Deaths from xylazine are on the rise. The White House has a new plan to tackle it
Deepa Shivaram | NPR The White House is marshaling a new plan to try to beef up testing, tracking and treatment for street drugs laced with xylazine, a veterinary tranquilizer that has contributed to a surge of overdose deaths across the country. The administration listed xylazine combined with fentanyl as an emerging threat back in…
Dog’s life saved with Narcan in Marin County
KRON 4 | Rob Nesbitt In a first for the Marin Humane Society, an animal services officer in Marin County saved a dog’s life using Narcan. The dog’s owner called 911 when the animal collapsed in a mall parking lot after discovering that their prescription medication bottle had been chewed through minutes before. At the…
Now recruiting AmeriCorps VISTAs to support overdose prevention in California
Do you want to be being part of the movement to eliminate overdose deaths in California? The Center for Health Leadership and Practice (CHLP) at the Public Health Institute is actively recruiting AmeriCorps VISTA members to serve with the California Overdose Prevention Network (COPN), a network of coalitions, organizations, and individuals working at the forefront…
Harsh New Fentanyl Laws Ignite Debate Over How to Combat Overdose Crisis
By Jan Hoffman | The New York Times Three teenage girls were found slumped in a car in the parking lot of a rural Tennessee high school last month, hours before graduation ceremonies. Two were dead from fentanyl overdoses. The third, a 17-year-old, was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. Two days later, she…
Marin Health Officials Track Illicit Drug Use by Testing Wastewater
By: Lesley McClurg Public health officials in Marin County are now tracking illicit drugs in local wastewater — everything from nicotine to methamphetamine and fentanyl. Testing sewer water can illustrate exactly what is “hot” and where, offering a more accurate picture of the drug crisis than simply counting overdoses. “We know now that our clinical…