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

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  • Weaponizing Truth Against Opioids

    Ad campaigns that provide personal testimonials, relatable narratives, and captivating images succeed in stemming epidemics of addiction among teenagers. The Truth Initiative’s anti-smoking campaign has helped to dramatically reduce teenage smoking during recent decades by creating ads that targeted teens with compelling messages. Now, the Truth Initiative is including anti-opioid messaging in its campaign.

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  • Reaching Pregnant People with Addictions

    Building trust with a recovery coach can reduce the shame and stigma surrounding addiction during pregnancy. In Madison, Wisconsin, the Pregnancy2Recovery program pairs expecting mothers who are struggling with addiction with coaches. The coaches, who are also recovering addicts, build rapport with their mentees, helping them navigate aspects of both recovery and pregnancy.

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  • Biometric opioid dispensing machine first of its kind to address demand for safer drug supply

    In the face of an overdosing crisis, a physician in Vancouver created an ATM-like machine that allows people to pick up pharmaceutical-grade opioids to reduce the chances of people using contaminated drugs. Although this methodology is not a means of addiction treatment, it does eliminate an autonomy barrier for safe injections, requires an initial assessment by a physician, and limits the amount of pills one can request per day which means fewer overdoses.

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  • ‘Like A Flu Shot' For Addiction Crisis: Training High School Students As Recovery Coaches

    A town in West Virginia was lacking resources for mental health care, so high school juniors were tapped to fill the need. Learning skills such as how to use naloxone to in an overdose situation to asking open-ended questions to intervene in a crisis, the students walked away from a “life & recovery coach academy” equipped with usable skills, college credits, and a certificate, while also reentering their community as more engaged citizens.

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  • In Appalachia, Crafting a Road to Recovery With Dulcimer Strings

    To help those struggling with opioid addictions, an apprentice program in Kentucky uses art and music taught by local artisans to provide participants with a path forward. After learning various skills as part of the program, a local instrument company also considers the new apprentices for hire as part of a “recovery-friendly” employment movement.

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  • Marketing Psychiatric Drugs to Jailers and Judges

    Drug companies that market long-lasting psychiatric drugs have found new clientele in courtrooms and prisons, as a means to treat mental health issues for those that have been incarcerated. Although the practice of targeting judges and prison officials is controversial, several jails have attested that having free samples of the drugs has led to positive outcomes such as reducing barriers for inmates to receive medication and decreasing the likelihood of reoffending.

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  • Innovating Recovery: Group Highlights New Approaches To Addiction Crisis

    By combining resources across sectors, an outpatient addiction treatment center in West Virginia has been able to offer an immediate response to patients which is a vital factor in whether someone follows through with their treatment plan. The center also works with the community through partnerships with local organizations to reduce stigma to seek addiction treatment.

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  • Rwanda avoids US-style opioids crisis by making own morphine

    The Rwandan government is on a mission to get palliative care to everyone who needs it by creating their own morphine instead of being beholden to pharmaceutical companies driven by profit. Using Uganda's simple recipe for morphine, the government partnered with nonprofits to produce and distribute morphine for free and under close watch. The drug costs pennies to make and is hand-delivered by community workers to those who need it, no matter how far. Although fear and uncertainty remain over the possibility of opioid addiction, many patients are greatly relieved to now live pain-free.

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  • The Cost of Regulating Pain

    The CDC's 2016 guidelines on prescribing opioids for chronic pain attempted to address the opioid-addiction crisis by restricting the supply of the drugs at their source. The guidelines discouraged their use when possible and suggested strategies to taper patients off of them. Since then, thousands of people have lost access to necessary medications and to their doctors, thanks to overreactions to the CDC guidelines that unintentionally led to deaths by street drugs or withdrawal.

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  • Can technology fix the silent opioid crisis gripping US hospitals?

    Tracking controlled substances can be difficult for hospitals, which often results in drugs being diverted from where they are supposed to go. To tackle this problem, technology companies are stepping in by creating software that utilizes a machine-learning algorithm that "can identify risky prescription and dispensation patterns among healthcare staff."

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