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The Coronavirus Is Blowing Up Our Best Response to the Opioid Crisis

Zachary Siegel

July 29, 2020 |

The New Republic |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Midland, Michigan

The coronavirus pandemic has correlated with an increase in overdose deaths in the United States, likely due to people going against one of the "central tenets of safety when using drugs: Never use alone" as well as governments' longstanding stigma against allowing supervised consumption sites. To overcome this, a harm reduction service in Midland, Michigan is connecting volunteer operators with "people who have no choice but to use alone" via telephone as a means to offer help if something goes wrong.

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The Temporary Battle Against COVID-19 Taught This N.C. Native Community How to Combat a Longstanding Epidemic

Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle

July 22, 2020 |

100 Days in Appalachia |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Cherokee, North Carolina

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians reacted to COVID-19 with aggressive measures that yielded fewer illnesses than in neighboring counties, and no deaths, all without outside help. But one of their preventive measures – roadblocks severely limiting access to the Qualla Boundary, the band's territory – led to a surge in overdose deaths from fentanyl-laced heroin, because drug dealers responded with fewer shipments of more potent drugs. Overdoses eventually subsided with the roadblock lifted. The unintended consequence taught lessons about self-governance and unseen risks from within, not just from outside.

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How Bangor drug court participants are getting help staying sober during the pandemic

Judy Harrison

June 16, 2020 |

Bangor Daily News |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Bangor, Maine

Bangor drug court in Maine has turned to the use of Zoom to keep in contact with program participants during the Covid-19 pandemic. Although meeting via video call can disguise some physical symptoms of drug use, this new process has so far seen success with all participants still enrolled and one even graduating from the program.

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A ‘Pandemic's-worth of Triggers' Are Causing an Increase in Relapses Across the Country. Here's How Appalachians Are Coping.

Fernando Alfonso III

May 14, 2020 |

100 Days in Appalachia |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Kentucky

Stay-at-home orders and social distancing can worsen opioid addiction problems, and so some health providers, social media, and agencies in opioid-heavy Appalachia have devised ways to turn a threat into an opportunity. To counter isolation and denial of in-person counseling, forums on Reddit have thrived as virtual support groups. Video conferencing has proved a boon to telemedicine and counselors, extending the reach of services. Treatment providers and even Kentucky's prisons are distributing medications in novel ways to help people maintain sobriety and avoid overdoses.

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America's Other Epidemic: A new approach to fighting the opioid crisis as it quietly rages on

Beth Macy

May 01, 2020 |

The Atlantic |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Batesville, Indiana

To close a gap in drug treatment that often denies help to people who end up jailed, a hospital employee schooled in the strong evidence of effectiveness of medication-assisted treatment cobbled together a program using Medicaid funding and the cooperation of the courts and medical community. The program is rare in rural America. Though still small, the Courts Addiction & Drug Services program ended its first year with no overdoses, and only a handful of relapses, among its dozens of participants. In a region where MAT drugs are nearly impossible to get, the program is now working to expand its services.

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Coronavirus Crisis Opens Access To Online Opioid Addiction Treatment

Phil Galewitz

April 23, 2020 |

Kaiser Health News |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Walnut Creek, California

Addiction experts have been offering online counseling for addiction patients for years but have also been working to change a federal law that required patients seeking medications to help with withdrawals to first make an in-person appointment. The coronavirus pandemic has now expedited that change, and with the regulation lifted, doctors are able to offer medication-assisted treatment via online appointments in addition to the counseling.

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Portugal's answer to the heroin crisis

Aubrey Whelan

April 22, 2020 |

The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia Media Network) |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Portugal, Lisbon

When faced with an opioid crisis, the government in Portugual made a drastic decision to decriminalize drug use. This shift in policy allowed for a shift in perspective – addiction problems could now be treated as a public health issue, rather than a criminal issue. This approach resulted in a significant decrease in overdoses, and is now a model that U.S. cities, such as Philadelphia, are looking at to learn from.

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Revive: A fatal overdose, a stunning coincidence, and a mother's long quest to heal.

Max Blau

March 26, 2020 |

The Atavist Magazine |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Miami, Florida

A mother's grief and a doctor's determination led to the first syringe-exchange center in Florida – a significant first step in increasing conversation around the merits of harm reduction policies. Since opening, the center has "collected 360,000 dirty syringes, provided medical treatment to 1,200 people, and helped 200 patients detox," while also reversing 1,450 overdoses, which has prompted five other counties to lift their syringe-exchange bans.

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Teaching Children How to Reverse an Overdose

Dan Levin

February 23, 2020 |

The New York Times |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Elizabethton, Tennessee

In Carter County, Tennessee, where an opioid crisis is underway, elementary-aged children and teenagers are being taught how to administer the overdose reversal nasal spray, Narcan. Although this strategy has faced opposition from some local residents, at least 100 students have administered the life-saving treatment.

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Welcome to Ellenville: How a Rural New York Village Became a Model for Opioid Administration

Barbara Mantel

February 06, 2020 |

Rural Health Quarterly |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Ellenville, New York

Rather than prescribing opioids for pain treatment, an Ellenville Regional Hospital program treats emergency room patients with chronic pain using non-opioid treatments and offers referrals to local behavioral health services to address the issue of opioid addiction and overdoses.

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