Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • How safe-injection sites work

    The city of Montreal, Canada is testing how safe injection sites can be used in the fight against opioid overdoses. Montreal has 4 total sites, and one of them, called Cactus Montreal, has already supervised thousands of users in less than a year without a single death. Cactus is often busy with about 100 visitors each day, and they say that their services also prevent public injections and litter of used needles.

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  • A ray of hope: Fighting codeine and tramadol abuse in Kano state

    Two groups in Nigeria are helping young men recover from drug addiction. The Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria (FOMWAN) uses their own process: embrace, sensitize, and rehabilitate by hosting weekly meetings for the recovering addicts. The Youth Awareness Forum Against Drug Addiction (YAFODA) has used multiple approaches to help 252 recovering addicts. The alarming statistic that “7 out of 10 youths in Kano state are involved in drug abuse” underscores the great need for these programs.

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  • 30,000 Copies and Counting: This Newspaper Helps Inmates Prepare for Life on the Outside

    In Cincinnati, a resource guide helps those currently or previously incarcerated find resources like housing and employment so they can transition back to the community. The newspaper, called Re-enter into Society Empowered, or RISE, was created by a woman who struggled with addiction and incarceration. It features stories of recovery as well as resources in the community and the staff provide peer mentoring and advice to current inmates.

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  • Police in Illinois Are Helping Substance Abusers Get Into Rehab Instead of Arresting Them

    Dixon is the second police department in the United States to stop jailing drug addicts and start helping them check into rehab centers instead. “We’re changing the way law enforcement views addiction — to see it as a disease, not a crime,” says Police Detective Jeff Ragan. At least 267 people have gone through the Safe Passage program so far, some multiple times, but the program seems to be working. Residential burglaries, retail thefts, and drug arrests have dropped.

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  • France had a big heroin epidemic in the 1980s and '90s. Here's how the country fixed it.

    When France changed their policy in 1995, and allowed primary care doctors to prescribe buprenorphine, an anti-drug medication that reduces cravings for opioids, a drastic change happened. “Within four years, overdose deaths had declined by 79 percent.”

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  • There's a New 12-Step Group: Medication-Assisted Recovery Anonymous

    Medication-Assisted Recovery Anonymous is a new 12-step group for people in recovery while taking prescribed methadone or suboxone. While many Narcotics Anonymous chapters stigmatize or dismiss people in medication-assisted recovery, MARA provides a place for community and peer support.

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  • How France Cut Heroin Overdoses by 79 Percent in 4 Years

    In 1995, following high rates of deaths by heroin overdose, France implemented new policies that allowed primary care physicians to prescribe buprenorphine, a drug that helps curb opiate cravings, to patients suffering from opioid addiction, drastically reducing overdose deaths. In the U.S., doctors are required to go through a special addiction training to be able to prescribe buprenorphine, meaning that very few U.S. doctors can prescribe it.

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  • In one Oklahoma county, the number of women in prison is falling. This treatment program might be why.

    Women in Recovery, is an 18 month intensive drug treatment program. However, women also have to undergo therapy and address their trauma. Then, some of the women have found work at S and R Compression, a company that has hired six women from the Women in Recovery program. ““From my past, everyone’s always seen the worst in me but now I have people who see the best in me and give me a chance and an opportunity.”

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  • Giving vulnerable residents help before mental health issues land them in jail

    Kansas City is trying to prevent people who have mental health or substance abuse disorders, from committing crimes. In order to do that, the city created a police crisis intervention team. They help people access treatment through the Kansas City Assessment and Triage Center, or other treatment centers. “Everything we do here is to really bridge them into whatever that long-term need is.” It’s too early to tell if the method is working, but police officers, judges, and addicts, argue it is. “It's amazing. It puts a smile on my face every day, and I have got a future coming.”

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  • Could venomous snails be part of the solution to the opioid epidemic?

    Patients who experience chronic pain are commonly prescribed opiates. Over time, their tolerance to the medication builds up and they must increase their dose to maintain the positive effects of opiates, often leading to addiction problems. A neurotoxin found in a venomous sea snail is proving to be more effective in relieving chronic pain because it works better over time and it is non-addictive.

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