Addiction News & Policy Update for Week Ending September 21, 2018

Senate Poised to Pass Bill to Stop Flow of Opioids Through the Mail

The Senate appears poised to pass a bill intended to shut a window through which fentanyl and other opioids pour into the United States from China through the mail, as lawmakers search desperately for ways to combat an epidemic affecting people of all ages and income levels across the country.
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As opioid crisis rages, cost of overdose antidote spikes

As the opioid epidemic continues to kill tens of thousands of Americans each year, the drug naloxone has proved invaluable in preventing overdose-related deaths.
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Receipt of Timely Addiction Treatment and Association of Early Medication Treatment With Retention in Care Among Youths With Opioid Use Disorder

What percentage of youths receive medications for opioid use disorder shortly after diagnosis, and are those who receive medications early after diagnosis more likely to remain in care compared with those who receive behavioral treatment only?
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Documented Pain Diagnoses in Adults Prescribed Opioids: Results From the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey

Medical use of opioids has increased dramatically over the past 2 decades, far exceeding increases in the prevalence of pain.
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Instagram will send a pop-up about opioid addiction support if you search certain hashtags

Instagram says people are using the platform’s hashtags to find addiction support and communities as well as illegal drugs.
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Many 'Recovery Houses' Won't Let Residents Use Medicine To Quit Opioids

Cristina Rivell has been struggling with an opioid addiction since she was a teenager — going in and out of rehab for five years.
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The Opioid Crisis Is Now a Fentanyl Crisis

Sixty percent of U.S. opioid deaths last year involved the potent painkiller. Congress and the White House need to act.
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New Jersey hospital group develops alternative to opioid program

The three hospitals that make up Care Point Health have created alternative programs to prescribing opioids to combat pain.
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Researchers block cocaine craving and addiction with a special skin graft

Addiction to any drug — be it alcohol, tobacco, opioids or illicit drugs, like cocaine — is a chronic disease that causes a compulsive drug-seeking behavior individuals find difficult or impossible to control even when they are aware of the harmful, often deadly consequences.
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