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On Parole, Staying Free Means Staying Clean and Sober

Tammy La Gorce

May 14, 2021 |

The New York Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New Jersey

People in two New Jersey counties who were at risk of abusing opioids while on parole were given extra support services, and an immediate trip to rehab instead of back to prison when they slipped up. The pilot program is New Jersey's version of Swift, Certain and Fair, a federally funded program to help people succeed while on parole. In some of the 30 states with SCF programs, copying the original and successful Hawaii model didn't work. But New Jersey's approach to helping people succeed instead of laying traps to send them back to prison was deemed a success with a small, focused pilot program.

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Addiction treatment drug buprenorphine easier to prescribe under Biden

Dave Miller Allison Frost

May 04, 2021 |

Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) |

Radio Talk Show |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States

Bupreneophine (also known as Suboxone) is a highly effective medication to treat opioid use disorder and addiction. It is life-saving, both in reducing the risk of fatal overdoses and helping people function better as they get treatment for their disorder. But prescribing and dispensing it is in many ways more highly regulated than the prescribing and dispensing of opioids themselves. A researcher who surveyed pharmacies found that many refuse to dispense the medication out of fear of regulatory sanctions or because of misplaced moral objections to medication-assisted treatment.

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Translating Portugal's Approach to Drugs and Addiction

Elana Gordon

March 31, 2021 |

Undark |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: Portugal

In the 20 years since Portugal decriminalized possession of personal amounts of all drugs, deaths from HIV and overdoses declined and more people take advantage of expanded drug treatment programs. Treating the country's addiction-related problems as a health concern rather than a crime has been embraced domestically and copied by other places, including most recently in the U.S. by Oregon. Portugal's experience serves in part as a cautionary tale about tailoring policies to local conditions and following through on ideals with clear, measurable approaches. Copying the program outright is not simple.

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Will New York allow incarcerated people to access treatment for drug addiction?

Sam Mellins

March 05, 2021 |

New York Focus |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York

Medically assisted treatment is proven to reduce fatal opioid overdoses, particularly among formerly incarcerated people. When people are denied treatment in jail or prison and then resume their previous doses once they're released, they are up to 40 times more likely to die of an overdose. Only 18 of New York's county jails and fewer than one in five of its prisons provide access to such treatment drugs as Suboxone and methadone. When Rhode Island became the first state to make MAT available throughout its prisons, its overdose deaths among people recently released from incarceration dropped 60%.

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The "Secret Handshake"—A Program Gifting Cannabis to Unhoused People

Doug Johnson

February 01, 2021 |

Filter |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

In Los Angeles, the Sidewalk Project gives unhoused people gifts of marijuana to ease their anxiety and to show kindness. Since its start in the spring of 2020, the group has gifted gram-sized portions of weed nearly 1,000 times. The harm-reduction group gets its supply from growers who donate weed that isn't up to commercial-grade snuff. Evidence is mixed on whether marijuana is an effective antidote to opioid withdrawal symptoms, but Sidewalk says it has helped some by making them more relaxed. Personal use of marijuana is legal in California, with restrictions on quantities that can be transferred.

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In Brattleboro, a new kind of police patrol pushes treatment, not jail

Paul Cuno-Booth

January 02, 2021 |

Sentinel Source (The Keene Sentinel) |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Brattleboro, Vermont

Police officers paired with substance abuse counselors go onto Brattleboro's streets to offer no-strings-attached help to people using drugs. Without using arrests or other coercion, the Project CARE "recovery coaches" have connected dozens of people to rehab and other needed services since the program began in July 2018. Modeled on bigger, successful programs in Gloucester and Brockton, Massachusetts, CARE's effect on overdoses is unknown and the involvement of police is seen by some as a drawback. But the outreach has let the community know help is available for the asking – even from cops.

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COVID-19 Eased Drug Treatment Rules—And That Saved Lives.

Christine Vestal

December 18, 2020 |

Stateline |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Rules changes designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at drug-treatment clinics had the benefit of improving access to treatment, which experts say has saved thousands of lives. Although overdose deaths have increased during the pandemic, they would be far higher but for emergency rules allowing for telehealth consultations with medical professionals, fewer restrictions on the use and storage of long-term supplies of methadone, and insurance coverage of addiction medications. Though not everyone prefers telephone consults over in-person visits, enough do that advocates want to make the changes permanent.

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Summit Safe Syringe Exchange ‘plants just a little bit of hope' through harm reduction

H.L. Comeriato

December 07, 2020 |

The Devil Strip |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Akron, Ohio

The Summit Safe Syringe Exchange provides free and clean needles and supplies to people who use drugs, while also providing access to testing and counseling and connecting people to housing and health care resources. Project DAWN saturated the community with naloxone, a drug that reverses opioid overdoses, and trains community members to recognize and treat overdoses quickly. Both programs have helped the Summit County Public Health integrate harm reduction strategies into the ways that officials address drug use and addiction.

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This Addiction Treatment Works. Why Is It So Underused?

Abby Goodnough

October 27, 2020 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

A substance abuse program known as contingency management offers incentives to those who to stay in treatment and remain abstinent from the use of drugs. Although not all agree with the merits of the program and question the underlying morals of the concept, anecdotal accounts from participants and studies have shown that it can be "highly effective" in helping to treat substance abuse.

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They lost their brothers to addiction. Now they're tackling deadly stigmas head on, with humor

Tim Greiving

October 22, 2020 |

Los Angeles Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

Two women who lost their brothers to heroin overdoses launched the podcast "Last Day" to address death – by drugs and, in season two, by suicide – with a mix of humor, unsettling candor, and conventional-wisdom-busting storytelling. At first a modest startup, their production company now employs 17, topped the podcast charts with almost 4 million downloads, and has rolled out other programs on such topics as body image, bullying, the pandemic, policing, and loneliness. Many of the topics were proposed by listeners to "Last Day," who wanted their problems or questions to get the same treatment.

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