Delaware County Tracking Substance Use Through Sewage [Video]
Alex Buben from Biobot Analytics discusses the wastewater-based monitoring program for high-risk substances.
![Delaware County Tracking Substance Use Through Sewage [Video]](https://odfreemarin.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/hans-reniers-lQGJCMY5qcM-unsplash-768x512.jpg)
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…
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…
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…
Narcan at music festivals? The life-saving drug naloxone is coming to a concert near you
David Oliver | USA Today It’s festival season, meaning fabulous flower crowns, loud live music and Narcan. Yes, the overdose-reversing drug Narcan (naloxone) will be available at music festivals near you this year – and with good reason, experts say. Drugs and alcohol are staple at music festivals and many often overdo it. Combine that with the overwhelming presence of fentanyl in the drug…
Biden-Harris Administration Designates Fentanyl Combined with Xylazine as an Emerging Threat to the United States
ATLANTA, GA – Today, Dr. Rahul Gupta, Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), has officially designated fentanyl adulterated or associated with xylazine as an emerging threat to the United States. Xylazine is a non-opioid tranquilizer approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for veterinary use but not human use….
North Minneapolis’ Fire Station 14 launches drop-in center for people struggling with substance abuse
By SUSAN DU , STAR TRIBUNE “Struggling with drugs? We can help.” A large sign now hangs beside the front door of Fire Station 14 in north Minneapolis offering support for overcoming substance abuse. At any hour of the day anyone who knocks will be welcomed by a firefighter with connections to a network of peer recovery…
The FDA approves the overdose-reversing drug Narcan for over-the-counter sales
By Joe Hernandez / NPR The overdose-reversing drug Narcan could soon be available to buy over the counter without a prescription, the Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday. The FDA’s approval of the nasal spray Narcan — the brand name for the drug naloxone — means the medication could be more widely available across the U.S….
New study highlights opioid overdose risk following release from Oregon prisons
By Sheraz Sadiq (OPB) In Oregon, people released from prison were 10 times more likely to overdose on opioids compared to the general population, according to a new study that tracked prison release and overdose data from 2014 to 2018. The risk of overdose doubled during the first two weeks of release, and formerly incarcerated women were…
Texas scientists create fentanyl vaccine to combat opioid epidemic
By Adithi Ramakrishnan | The Dallas Morning News To combat the fentanyl epidemic in the United States, researchers at the University of Houston have created a fentanyl vaccine that could help prevent overdoses. They aim to test the vaccine in a human trial within the next year. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid drug that kills…
