71 articles found
Colorado classrooms are embracing harm reduction strategies and naloxone training, moving away from decades of abstinence-only messaging as fentanyl crisis reshapes youth drug education.
Trump administration ends federal support for fentanyl, xylazine, and medetomidine test strips through SAMHSA grants, reversing Biden-era harm reduction policies amid declining overdose deaths.
Austin-area officials credit free naloxone distribution through vending machines and community partnerships for dramatic reduction in fentanyl fatalities.
Kentucky reports fourth straight year of declining overdose deaths with 22.9% reduction in 2025, marking 50.8% decrease from 2021 peak as comprehensive state strategy shows sustained results.
New CDC data shows U.S. overdose deaths fell 15.9% in the past year, but emerging synthetic drugs like medetomidine threaten continued progress
While overdose deaths fell 18% nationally, Colorado saw a 10% increase in fentanyl-related fatalities, with Denver reporting a 25% spike. DEA data reveals the state's unique challenges.
Eden Village uses $140,000 in opioid settlement grants to provide permanent supportive housing and peer counseling for chronically homeless individuals recovering from addiction.
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird announces $9 million in opioid settlement grants for community prevention and treatment programs, with funds flowing through state legislature-approved distribution framework.
Rural Oklahoma faces barriers accessing opioid settlement grants due to lack of grant-writing expertise and community partnerships, while metro areas and schools secure most funding.
Trump administration's SAMHSA announces major policy reversal, banning federal funds for fentanyl test strips and sterile syringes while urging limitations on methadone and buprenorphine prescribing.
Milwaukee County reports dramatic 42.5% decline in drug overdose deaths since 2022, driven by harm reduction expansion, medication-assisted treatment, and $111 million opioid settlement investment.
Vermont reports dramatic 25% reduction in drug overdose deaths, marking the state's first significant decline in fatal overdoses in 20 years amid national mortality improvements.
West Virginia reports 48% drop in fatal drug overdoses, exceeding the national decline of 44%, as enforcement and public health efforts converge in the state hardest hit by the opioid crisis.
Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission distributes record $34 million to 100+ organizations, bringing total community investment past $100 million since 2021.
Health officials confirm first fatal overdose involving N-Propionitrile chlorphine, a potent synthetic opioid undetectable by standard fentanyl test strips.
Utah joins $773.7 million national settlement with Albertsons Companies, directing funds to opioid abatement programs for treatment, recovery services, and prevention efforts.
New Child Trends analysis shows youth overdose deaths dropped 37% since 2023, with rates now lower than before the pandemic despite fentanyl's continued spread.
Mayor Brandon Scott unveils first annual report and public dashboard tracking how Baltimore invests settlement dollars from opioid litigation into harm reduction, treatment, and community services.
DEA identifies carfentanil 1,400 times in 2025 drug seizures as the ultra-potent synthetic opioid 100 times stronger than fentanyl kills hundreds across 42 states.
UC San Diego and SDSU study of 2.8 million students finds local flavor bans reduce e-cigarette use by 20% with no increase in cigarette smoking, challenging industry arguments.
DEA reports 1,400 carfentanil identifications in 2025, up from just 54 in 2022. The veterinary tranquilizer, 100 times stronger than fentanyl, is killing unsuspecting users as China cracks down on fentanyl precursors.
ONDCP, SAMHSA and HUD launch two-day summit to develop national toolkit for treating substance use disorders among homeless individuals, marking a shift toward integrated care models
Federal health officials warn about medetomidine, a veterinary tranquilizer increasingly mixed with illicit fentanyl, causing complex withdrawal syndromes and complicating overdose responses
New Anesthesiology research reveals that conventional naloxone doses may not fully reverse respiratory depression from potent synthetic opioids like fentanyl and sufentanil, urging updated emergency protocols
NPR analysis reveals sustained decline in overdose mortality since August 2023 peak, marking longest decrease in four decades despite emergence of more potent street drugs
Wisconsin Department of Health Services announces comprehensive $31 million opioid response strategy combining treatment access expansion, harm reduction, and law enforcement education.
Central Health plans 45 free naloxone units by September as Travis County overdose deaths drop 22%, expanding vending machines and community partnerships to sustain decline.
Rhode Island becomes first state to reverse kratom ban while Kansas, Connecticut move toward Schedule I classification, creating fragmented regulatory landscape for substance used by millions for pain and opioid withdrawal.
NCDHHS awards federal block grant funding to twelve community organizations targeting rural areas, youth prevention, and criminal justice-involved populations as state battles 1.4 million struggling with substance use.
Federal initiative targets individuals experiencing homelessness and substance use disorders through outcomes-based approach, but faith-based inclusion and punitive policy context raise concerns among public health advocates.
SB 365 would mandate ERs provide evidence-based addiction treatment, potentially saving $20,000 per patient annually while reducing overdose deaths — but faces hospital pushback over costs.
Two competing bills represent fundamentally different approaches to kratom policy—one seeks complete prohibition while the other acknowledges harm reduction uses for addiction recovery and pain management.
Senator Patty Murray announces funding for Tacoma-Pierce County mobile medical services while highlighting successful pushback against Trump administration's proposed $2 billion SAMHSA grant terminations.
Ann Arbor-based online addiction provider now treats kratom and 7-hydroxymitragynine dependence through app-based platform, addressing regulatory gap as FDA restricts potent derivatives but leaf products remain unregulated nationwide.
Georgia county awards settlement dollars to programs ranging from peer support to residential treatment as officials confront third-highest opioid death toll in the state.
New report profiles eight alternative mental health crisis programs removing police from response while Trump administration restructuring threatens federal funding infrastructure.
Indiana University's MACRO-B initiative reduced opioid overdose mortality among Black Indianapolis residents by 45% in two years, now expanding statewide.
Cychlorphine, a novel opioid resistant to standard naloxone doses, has been detected in over a dozen states. Oklahoma confirmed its first death as experts warn the drug may require multiple Narcan doses to reverse overdoses.
Governor Josh Stein announces expansion of Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion programs to seven counties, offering treatment alternatives to incarceration for low-level offenses involving substance use.
CDCR documented over 7,000 overdose reversals since 2019 and became the only U.S. state prison system allowing incarcerated individuals to carry naloxone inside facilities.
National opioid overdose deaths fell to 46,066 in October 2025, down from 86,075 in June 2023. CDC data reveals declines across all racial groups as weaker fentanyl supply and expanded treatment efforts reshape the crisis.
Opioid deaths fell 12% in Washington last year while innovative programs expanded access to life-saving treatment. But new Medicaid work requirements and federal funding cuts are already disrupting care.
Psychostimulants, primarily methamphetamine, overtook opioids as Iowa's leading overdose cause in 2024. Without a Narcan equivalent, public health officials confront new treatment challenges.
Veterinary sedative 300× more potent than xylazine spreads through illicit opioid supply, causing life-threatening withdrawal and evading standard drug tests.
Baltimore's finalized Overdose Response Strategic Plan ups its target to a 50% reduction by 2040, backed by nearly $600 million in opioid settlement funds and community-driven priorities.
Eastern Shoshone Tribal Health launches Wyoming's first harm reduction vending machines offering free naloxone, fentanyl test strips, and suicide prevention tools through anonymous PIN access to address overdose crisis on Wind River Reservation.
Bipartisan DETECT Nitazenes Act introduced in Congress would enhance detection technology for emerging class of synthetic opioids linked to over 1,000 deaths in UK.
Columbia adds twelve public naloxone boxes as Missouri House proposes $8M cut to statewide distribution, threatening 800 agencies and 7,500 documented overdose saves since 2017.
New federal data reveals historic decline in opioid deaths across all demographics, driven by expanded naloxone access, weaker fentanyl supply, and medication treatment—though Arizona and four other states buck the trend.
ACLU challenges West Virginia's 2007 moratorium on methadone clinics, arguing the state's unique restriction violates disability law while forcing 54,000 residents with opioid use disorder to navigate impossible treatment logistics.
Mayor Daniel Lurie announces Proposition 1 funding for 100 new psychiatric and addiction treatment beds across three sites, even as the city faces $900 million deficit and federal funding cuts.
Parents who lost children to overdoses are urging Pennsylvania to use settlement money to create a comprehensive bereavement support system modeled on Philadelphia's Philly HEALs program.
SAMHSA's termination and rapid restoration of $2 billion in mental health grants in January exposed fragility of addiction infrastructure as overdose deaths decline for first time in decades.
AG Kris Kobach and DCCCA deploy free overdose reversal kits across Kansas universities and community colleges as state battles 2,000+ fentanyl deaths.
New transparency tool shows municipalities spent just 12% of available settlement funds in latest fiscal year, while state officials emphasize accountability in managing $1 billion expected through 2039.
Cychlorphine, an emerging synthetic opioid more potent than fentanyl, has been connected to at least 16 overdose deaths in East Tennessee since October. Federal authorities track 22 samples nationwide as harm reduction officials warn naloxone may require multiple doses.
CDC data shows overdose deaths fell to 68,000 in 12 months ending October 2025, the lowest since 2019, driven by a dramatic decline in fentanyl purity from 25% to 11% as all four waves of the epidemic enter simultaneous decline.
Eight new mental health and drug treatment facilities will receive Proposition 1 funding, including sobering centers and residential programs across the Bay Area
New CDC data reveals West Virginia and Virginia achieved the steepest opioid death declines in America, with drops approaching 49% and outpacing the national 44% reduction.
Indiana city's first round of settlement funding prioritizes community organizations meeting people at every stage of recovery, including grief counseling for families navigating substance use loss.
Sen. John Keenan proposes expanding subway naloxone access after 2024 pilot ended prematurely, leaving empty and broken cabinets across Boston's transit system.
New state transparency dashboard reveals municipalities spent just 12% of available settlement funds in FY2025 while communities await critical addiction services and harm reduction programs.
City Council approves five-year opioid settlement funding plan targeting overdose prevention through community-based Narcan distribution, HIV testing, and integrated harm reduction services.
Harm Reduction Coalition of San Diego failed to pay subcontractors and staff for months while COO allegedly misappropriated over $200,000 in public funds for personal expenses.
MDHHS distributes free naloxone kits at local offices statewide, funded by $1.8 billion opioid settlement. State reports 35% decline in overdose deaths since 2023.
House Bill 487 allocates $43M from opioid settlements to prevention, treatment, and recovery programs, with unanimous bipartisan support as Alabama reports 30% reduction in overdose deaths.
State legislators advance $5.7 million appropriation to sustain 988 Mental Health Lifeline after federal funding expires in September, citing success in diverting crisis calls from emergency services.
New federal legislation would require OSHA guidance on workplace naloxone access amid rising employer reports of opioid impact and uneven emergency preparedness.
The Maternal Overdose Matters Initiative delivered naloxone kits to over 2,500 families at 107 hospitals, helping reverse a crisis where overdose became the leading cause of maternal mortality statewide.
California's CalRx program cuts naloxone costs by more than half while the state's distribution initiative crosses a staggering milestone in overdose reversals.
As cocaine and methamphetamine become contaminated with fentanyl, researchers argue that contingency management and culturally adapted harm reduction are essential—yet remain vastly underutilized across the United States.