youth hanging out

February Newsletter Spotlight – The Youth Lens

Youth Perspective: Why do Marin teens use? Youth substance use in Marin County is significantly higher than the California state average. According to the California Healthy Kids Survey, nearly twice as many Marin County students reported using one or more substances in the past 30 days compared to students statewide. Rates of alcohol, marijuana, and…

closeup of syringe being filled by man wearing gloves

NY Times Magazine: An Effective Treatment for Opioid Addiction Exists. Why Isn’t It Used More?

A drug called buprenorphine may be the best tool doctors have to fight the fentanyl crisis. Why hasn’t it been more widely adopted?

group of 4 people with staff badges and lanyards smiling in front of a doorway

NY Times Magazine Features Public Health Institute’s Bridge Center on Buprenorphine as an Effective Treatment for Opioid Addiction

PHI’s Bridge saves lives by making it possible for people who use drugs to get treatment at any hospital—whenever and wherever they need it. Today, emergency rooms across the country implementing the Bridge program provide thousands of patients with equitable, accessible evidence-based care.  Moises Velasquez-Manoff of The New York Times Magazine spent 18 months observing PHI’s Bridge…

4 people from OD Free Marin's staff booth at the Marin County Fair, providing information pamphlets and free Narcan
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State overdose deaths drop

Follows explosion of drug fatalities during pandemic Source: Marin Independent Journal  Overdose deaths in California have significantly decreased for nine consecutive months, following a surge in fatalities during the pandemic, with a 17% drop from the peak in August 2023. Experts attribute this decline to a combination of factors, including expanded addiction treatment, public awareness…

Kate Kennedy Scott, program coordinator for OD Free Marin, and Ken Olshansky with the Marin Medical Reserve Corps,
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Larkspur supportive housing hosts health fair

An article from the Marin Independent Journal features Kate Kennedy Scott, program coordinator for OD Free Marin, and Ken Olshansky with the Marin Medical Reserve Corps, at the Episcopal Community Services’ Inaugural Health Fair on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024.024. “Vendors at the fair included the Ritter Center’s Mobile Clinic, Downtown Streets Team, United Way Bay…

groups of pills of different colors and shapes in a plastic container

Potential public health risk among individuals ordering counterfeit prescription medications from online pharmacies

From The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is informing public health officials, clinicians, and affected patients, their families, and caregivers about a potential public health risk among individuals ordering what they believe to be prescription medications from online pharmacies. On September 30, 2024, the U.S….

wide shot of a pier leading to a bay
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Marin parent set to pedal to Farallones in daughter’s memory

An article in the Oct 3, 2024 edition of the Marin Independent Journal about a Mill Valley mom, Jessica Schiller, who biked to the Farallon Islands to honor her daughter Naomi, who died from fentanyl poisoning in 2022. “We’re always looking for new ways to raise awareness about fentanyl, and Jessica certainly found one,” said…

rows of Narcan in a vending machine
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Marin County adds more naloxone vending machines [Marin IJ]

By Richard Halstead | Marin Independent Journal Marin County is redoubling its efforts to get naloxone into the hands of people who need it to prevent drug overdoses. Over the summer, the county added three new vending machines that supply naloxone kits free of charge, increasing the number of machines in the county to eight….