harm reduction

More Addiction Patients Can Take Methadone at Home

STILL NOT ENOUGH – May 8, 2024 - Despite methadone’s effectiveness, a labyrinth of state and federal rules keeps it inaccessible to many people who desperately need it. “What kind of normal person with a... Read More...

Addiction RecoveryBig PharmaBooks, Memoirs, Films, and MediaDrug Abuse and Addictionharm reductionMay 14 2024methRecoveryRehab

Amazingly Beautiful Family Is Expanding Access to Free Narcan

VIDEO – ONE FROM THE HEART – May 9, 2024 - The Whittington family launched Med Kwik, vending machines filled with over-the-counter pharmacy items. Their daughter, 15-year-old Avery Whittington, who is s... Read More...

Addiction RecoveryBig PharmaBooks, Memoirs, Films, and MediaDrug Abuse and Addictionharm reductionMay 14 2024RecoveryRehab

FDA Approves Over-the-Counter Sales of Narcan

IT’S ABOUT TIME – May 1, 2024 -In a move that health experts say may reduce the number of fentanyl deaths, the FDA has approved over-the-counter sales of Narcan nasal spray -- a medication that rapidly reverse... Read More...

Addiction RecoveryBig PharmaBooks, Memoirs, Films, and MediaDrug Abuse and Addictionharm reductioninterventionMay 7 2024

Forced Addictions Treatment Will Cause More Harm Than Good

IMPORTANT – May 1, 2024 - Timothy Christie, the regional director of ethics services for the Horizon Health Network, said it’s very problematic from an ethics perspective to have a program that could cause har... Read More...

12 Step ProgramAddiction RecoveryAlcohol AddictionAlcoholics AnonymousBooks, Memoirs, Films, and MediaDrug Abuse and Addictionharm reductioninterventionMay 7 2024RecoveryRecovery AdvocateRehab

Los Angeles County Library Offers Narcan Clinics

BOOKS SAVE LIVES – April 2, 2024 - All 86 county libraries are stocked with Narcan, and staff has been trained on how to administer the medicine. According to the L.A. County Department of Health, accidental fenta... Read More...

Addiction RecoveryApril 16 2024Big PharmaBooks, Memoirs, Films, and MediaDrug Abuse and Addictionharm reductioninterventionRecovery

Can Methadone Vans Deliver the Goods?

STEP RIGHT UP – April 1, 2024 - “This kind of initiative is about using harm reduction, bringing services to where people are; it’s about using an evidence-based strategy,” Dr. Cunningham. “We know metha... Read More...

Addiction RecoveryApril 16 2024Big PharmaBooks, Memoirs, Films, and MediaDrug Abuse and Addictionharm reductioninterventionmethRecoveryRehab

Forced Drug Treatment Could Lead to More Fatal Overdoses

NPR AUDIO – NO ONE FORCED THEM TO START – April 6, 2024 - More people suffering from drug addiction are being forced into drug treatment and threatened with prison if they don’t comply. Some say it’s “tough love.” Cr... Read More...

Addiction RecoveryApril 16 2024Big PharmaBooks, Memoirs, Films, and MediaDrug Abuse and Addictionharm reductioninterventionOverdoseRecoveryRehab

Former Users and Experts Debate Kratom

WORTH DISCUSSING – March 29, 2024 - After struggling with alcoholism for two years, Aaron thought that trying out kratom as an alternative to drinking – as suggested by the ad he saw on Instagram – seemed like a good... Read More...

12 Step ProgramAddiction RecoveryAlcohol AddictionAlcoholics AnonymousApril 9 2024Big PharmaBooks, Memoirs, Films, and MediaDrug Abuse and Addictionharm reductioninterventionRecoveryRecovery AdvocateRehab

How “Toddler Milk” Is Marketed to Parents

SELL SELL SELL LIE – April 2, 2024 - The U.S. government has repeatedly fought against advertising restrictions on these products around the globe. These drinks, targeted to young kids, may promise un... Read More...

Addiction RecoveryApril 9 2024Books, Memoirs, Films, and Mediaharm reductioninterventionlife expectancyMental HealthTrauma

Switzerland Had an Overdose Crisis Until it Made Methadone Easy To Get

AMERICAN BAD DREAM – March 26, 2024 - ZURICH — The lobby of this addiction clinic is unremarkable, except for the network of metal chutes and tubes that hug the walls as they snake downward from a pharmacy on ... Read More...

Addiction RecoveryApril 2 2024Big PharmaBooks, Memoirs, Films, and MediaDrug Abuse and Addictionharm reductioninterventionOverdose

Hawaiian Hotels/Restaurants Could Be Required to Stock Narcan

AUDIO – THE HOMELESS SHELTERS TOO? – March 21, 2024 - “We really want to get health and harm reduction folks out there with the counselors to really try to offer people options to get into therapy and treatments so t... Read More...

Addiction RecoveryBig PharmaBooks, Memoirs, Films, and MediaDrug Abuse and Addictionharm reductioninterventionMar 26 2024OverdoseRecoveryRehab

Decriminalizing Drugs Could Help More People Seek Treatment

VIDEO – IT’S THE ONLY SOLUTION – March 11, 2024 - “If you reduce stigma and fear of criminalization, people are more likely to be vulnerable and honest about the struggles they have,” Schaffner said. “When they’re ... Read More...

Addiction RecoveryBooks, Memoirs, Films, and MediaDrug Abuse and Addictionharm reductioninterventionMar 19 2024Recovery

Can Only Caucasians Get Opioid Addiction Drug?

Do-Re-Mi – Feb. 28, 2024 - Americans addicted to opioids who need the anti-addiction med buprenorphine are far more likely to find it if they live in a predominantly white neighborhood. When you move to areas ... Read More...

Addiction RecoveryBig PharmaBooks, Memoirs, Films, and MediaDrug Abuse and AddictionFeb 27 2024harm reductioninterventionopioid crisisopioidsOverdoseoxycontinRecovery

NY to Distribute $95M to Expand Safe-Syringe Sites

LIKE SEAT BELTS FOR USERS – Feb. 15, 2024 - “While we are flattening the curve for some, we are not flattening the curve for all,” Baston said. “As we’ve seen the numbers drop off for white New Jerseyans, we’v... Read More...

Addiction RecoveryBig PharmaBooks, Memoirs, Films, and MediaDrug Abuse and AddictionFeb 20 2024harm reductioninterventionRecoveryRecovery Advocate

Biden’s Drug Czar Shares Vision for Tackling Overdose Crisis

BETTER START SOON! – Feb. 115, 2024 - Gupta: When we look at these types of epidemics across the country, where we find successful examples is where there’s a really good balance of both expanding treatment, a... Read More...

12 Step ProgramAddiction RecoveryAlcohol AddictionAlcoholics AnonymousBig PharmaBooks, Memoirs, Films, and MediaDrug Abuse and AddictionFeb 20 2024harm reductioninterventionRecoveryRecovery AdvocateRehab

Substance-Abuse Stigma Impedes Treatment

STOP DISCRIMINATING – Dec. 15, 2023 - Overall, stigma research has focused primarily on mental health problems, the authors wrote. But studies indicate that SUD is typically more stigmatized than mental illnes... Read More...

12 Step ProgramAddiction RecoveryAlcohol AddictionAlcoholics AnonymousBooks, Memoirs, Films, and MediaCompassionDec 19 2023Drug Abuse and Addictionharm reductioninterventionRecoveryRecovery AdvocateRehab

Access to MAT Isn’t a ‘Silver Bullet’

AUDIO – IT’S A START? – Dec. 6, 2023 - MAT is only effective when combined with psychosocial modalities but the treatment needs to be more widely-adopted, according to Cooper Zelnick, the company’s chief revenue offi... Read More...

Addiction RecoveryBig PharmaBooks, Memoirs, Films, and MediaDec 12 2023Drug Abuse and Addictionharm reductioninterventionRecoveryRecovery AdvocateRehab

Vending Machines For Reducing Deaths

VIDEO – ALL LIVES MATTER – Nov. 21, 2023 - The agency announced a new, free Narcan vending machine will be in its arrest processing center in collaboration with the group CARE Partnership, which is providing the pr... Read More...

Addiction RecoveryBig PharmaBooks, Memoirs, Films, and MediaDrug Abuse and Addictionharm reductioninterventionNov 28 2023RecoveryRehab

Ingestible “smart pill” May Detect Overdosing

THEN WHAT? – Nov. 17, 2023 - n this study, 10 participants undergoing sleep studies at the WVU Medicine Sleep Evaluation Center swallowed a Celero Systems Vitals Monitoring Pill (VM Pill), a device the size of a vita... Read More...

Addiction RecoveryBooks, Memoirs, Films, and MediaDrug Abuse and Addictionharm reductioninterventionNov 21 2023OverdoseRecovery

The Risk Harm Reduction May Be a Fad

PASSING FANCY? – Nov. 6, 2023 - The growing enthusiasm for harm reduction, both as a philosophy and in its practical applications like overdose prevention centers and needle exchanges, may lead to these initia... Read More...

Addiction RecoveryBooks, Memoirs, Films, and MediaDrug Abuse and Addictionharm reductionNov 14 2023

Poll finds 60% of Americans Don’t Plan on Buying Narcan

DUMBEST POLL EVER – Sept. 29, 2023 - Young adults (25% of 18- to 29-year-olds) were most likely to consider buying the nasal spray; respondents ages 65 and older (13%) and those who identified as politically independ... Read More...

Addiction RecoveryBig PharmaBooks, Memoirs, Films, and MediaDrug Abuse and Addictionharm reductioninterventionOct 10 2023Recovery

Naloxone Vending Machine Installed

HAVE A QUARTER? SAVE A LIFE – Sept. 10, 2023 - Approximately 300 naloxone nasal sprays, designed to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose involving substances like fentanyl, heroin and prescription painkil... Read More...

Addiction RecoveryBig PharmaBooks, Memoirs, Films, and MediaDrug Abuse and Addictionfentanylharm reductionHeroin AddictioninterventionOverdoseRecoverySept 19 2023

Narcan Now Available Over-The-Counter!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LIFE SAVERS – Sept. 1, 2023 - The announcement is believed by advocates to be a milestone that will make it easier to save lives in the US as the ongoing opioid epidemic claimed more than 100,000 American live... Read More...

Addiction RecoveryBig PharmaBooks, Memoirs, Films, and MediaDrug Abuse and Addictionharm reductioninterventionopioid crisisopioidsOverdoseoxycontinRecoveryRehabSept 19 2023

‘Gamechanger’ in Opioid Crisis: Narcan Available for Purchase in Drug Stores

VIDEO – ADDICTS STOCK UP – Sept. 8, 2023 - For the first time ever, you can buy Narcan without a prescription. The drug will be available in stores like CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid this week. Many are calling it a... Read More...

Addiction RecoveryBig PharmaBooks, Memoirs, Films, and MediaDrug Abuse and Addictionharm reductioninterventionopioid crisisopioidsOverdoseoxycontinRecoveryRehabSept 12 2023

Santa Clara County Pays Meth Addicts to Get Clean

CASH TALKS NOBODY WALKS – Aug. 4, 2023 - As reported in Mountain View Voice, Santa Clara County has been struggling with a significant drug-related issue, particularly methamphetamine, which accounts for more ... Read More...

Addiction RecoveryAug 15 2023Drug Abuse and Addictionharm reductionmethRecovery

Long Lines at Lollapalooza for Naloxone

VIDEO – BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY – Aug. 4, 2023 - CHICAGO - Some of the long lines at Lollapalooza are not for t-shirts or food. They are for naloxone. It’s the first year the overdose reversal drug is being passe... Read More...

Addiction RecoveryAug 8 2023Books, Memoirs, Films, and MediaDrug Abuse and Addictionharm reductioninterventionRecoveryRehab

NY Launches Campaign to Send Free Naloxone To Addicts

WHERE THE STATUE OF LIBERTY BELONGS – Aug. 4, 2023 - This partnership is funded through New York State’s Opioid Settlement Fund, and will allow individuals to receive naloxone by mail, free of charge. To compl... Read More...

Addiction RecoveryAug 8 2023Books, Memoirs, Films, and MediaDrug Abuse and Addictionharm reduction

Harm Reduction and Faith Communities

PROGRESS FOR LIVING – Aug. 1, 2023 - Though UCC is known for being one of the more socially progressive churches, the proposal met resistance from those espousing the common misconception that harm reduction e... Read More...

Addiction RecoveryAug 8 2023Big PharmaBooks, Memoirs, Films, and MediaDrug Abuse and Addictionharm reductionRecoveryRehab

Doctors Hesitate to Prescribe Suboxone

WTF? – July 21, 2023 - The research, published Friday in JAMA Health Forum, underscores two major challenges: allowing U.S. health care providers to provide addiction medications, and then convincing them to a... Read More...

Addiction RecoveryAug 1 2023Big PharmaBooks, Memoirs, Films, and MediabuprenorphineDrug Abuse and Addictionharm reductioninterventionRecoveryRehab

New York Launches Overdose Prevention Campaign

STOP THE DYING – July 13, 2023 - New York health officials on Tuesday launched a public service campaign highlighting the importance of naloxone, a medication that is used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose... Read More...

Addiction RecoveryBooks, Memoirs, Films, and MediaDrug Abuse and Addictionharm reductioninterventionJuly 25 2023OverdoseRecoveryTrauma

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