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…
By KERI BRENNER | kbrenner@marinij.com | Marin Independent Journal For the first time, the Tamalpais Union High School District interrupted classes this week for all 5,000 of its students at five high schools to deliver an important message. The message, relayed in a 45-minute districtwide webinar screened mid-morning on Thursday, was simple, but ominous: “Any pill, even if you…
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….
Know what’s in your drugs Tranq or xylzine is a non-opioid drug that can slow down the nervous system. It can make breathing and heart rate slower. When tranq is mixed with another drug like heroin, fentanyl or a benzo, it can increase the risk of overdose. In case of overdose, know what to do…
OD Free Marin and Marin Suicide Prevention Collaborative invite you to a one hour webinar about fentanyl that includes lived experience speakers such as a substance use navigator working at the Marin Health Emergency Department and experts in the field. The program connects National Fentanyl Awareness Day and May Mental Health Month. This Zoom event will…
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…
By KERRI BRENNER / Marin Independent Journal Marin County is set to receive $800,000 annually for nine years from a settlement with pharmaceutical companies, officials said this week. The county, which has an average of one resident dying from an accidental drug overdose almost every week, will use the money to expand Marin’s overdose prevention…
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….
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…
By Richard Halstead rhalstead@marinij.com Marin officials are hoping that analysis of local wastewater will become an effective tool in addressing a surge of drug overdoses in the county, just as it was in stemming the spread of COVID-19. In early February, the Marin public health office began testing samples collected weekly at the Central Marin…