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

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  • A Rural Community Decided To Treat Its Opioid Problem Like A Natural Disaster

    Snohomish County in Washington decided to respond to the opioid epidemic as they would to a natural disaster. They use a multi-agency strategy and bi-weekly meetings to tackle the epidemic one small step at a time. The police department is working to get people from homeless encampments into treatment, rather than arresting them. So far, they have helped hundreds of people into housing and treatment.

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  • Science Supports Supervised Injection Sites. Why Don't Politicians Agree?

    Years of research across countries has now shown that safe injection facilities correlate with fewer overdose deaths, but the United States as been slow to adopt this solution. Often deemed as controversial on the argument that these sites could enable further drug use, results from a facility in Vancouver go against this narrative by showing an increase in detox enrollments, rather than an increase in consumption.

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  • Drug Users Fight for Acceptance in California's Deep North

    Syringe exchange programs throughout the United States have been surrounded by controversy, but that doesn't mean they haven't had positive impacts on the community they serve. In northern California, the Humboldt Area Center for Harm Reduction not only provides clean syringes and overdose medications, but also serves as a place for building community, treating mental health concerns and preventing disease.

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  • Can Harm Reduction Roll Back an Epidemic of Drug-Related Deaths and Disease?

    Harm reduction is a quickly growing practices that aims to reduce drug-related deaths and the spread of disease often caused by dirty needles. Although public perception is still widely negative, the industry has seen success by using the act of offering clean needles as a first point of contact to offer other health and medical services.

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  • Offering Care Before Cuffs

    The Miami Police Department has joined efforts with health care and social services partners to offer an alternative to prison for opioid users. The Collaborative Law Enforcement Addiction Recovery (CLEAR) program consists of participants signing a binding agreement and entering treatment that lasts for 12 months, all while also helping to build trust between officers and their communities.

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  • Vets twice as likely to fatally OD – what the Dayton VA is doing about it

    Providing a comprehensive approach helps veterans struggling with addiction. At the Dayton Veterans Affairs Medical Center, when VA campus police who identify drug-related cases, patients are also paired with social workers and representatives of job placement programs. The benefit plan of the VA system provides a range of services, including medical care, addiction treatment, counseling, and social services such as housing or job assistance.

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  • Beyond the Stigma: New generation rises to help in opioid fight

    A growing number of people are entering the human services field in New Hampshire in response to the opioid crisis. Local colleges are responding to the demand by offering more courses and opportunities for budding social workers.

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  • Peer-to-peer: How former addicts help guide others through recovery

    With a new program of certified “recovery support specialists,” Alabama residents have a peer to help them navigate the challenges of everyday life in recovery from substance use disorder. Research has found that peer support programs help people reduce the desire to relapse as well as reduce feelings of guilt and shame.

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  • Is acupuncture a viable alternative to opioids for patients in pain?

    Several states are supporting the use of acupuncture to curb pain and opioid reliance, despite inconclusive scientific evidence of its efficacy. Chronic pain sufferers who experience relief from acupuncture say they don't need scientific evidence to know the procedure helps. As the death toll of the opioid epidemic continues to rise, an increasing number of states are considering covering the treatment.

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  • Solving America's painkiller paradox

    In a recent study, doctors who were told one of their patients had died prescribed 10% fewer opiates than doctors in a control group. The letters came with recommendations from the CDC for not overprescribing painkillers.

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