News

Rhode Island is now the first state in the country to legally authorized a two-year pilot program for harm reduction centers, effective March 1, 2022. MD and AMA Opioid Task Force Chair, Bobby Mukkamala, has expressed the AMA’s support for harm reduction centers, as Rhode Island paves the way to effectively educate, design, and implement safe-injection sites centered around harm reduction strategies. Truthout provides a fascinating article on the changes in advocacy for addiction medicine on national and state levels. The article also provides more details on the developments of RI’s new law.

To read the full Truthout article, click here.
For information reported by the American Medical Association, click here.

CURE magazine, an informative and supportive media platform for cancer awareness, investigates the topic of opioid prescribing for pain management among individuals with late-stage cancer. The article articulates findings in a recent Journal of Clinical Oncology publication. Dr. Andrea C. Enzinger, the study’s author and a medical oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute , was interviewed for the article to discuss how regulations on opioid prescriptions coincide with increases in patient emergency department visits for pain management solutions.

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In his USA Today opinion piece, Dr. Scott E. Hadland takes a stance on Sha’Carri Richardson’s disqualification from the Olympic 100 meter-dash after testing positive for marajuana. Dr. Hadland makes several evidence-based arguments against the World Anti-Doping Agency’s classification of marajuana as “prohibited”- a classification of substances that must meet two of three ruling criteria. The barring of Richardon from the Olympic event has stirred a plethora of sentiment around the politics of professional sports, and it may not be unreasonable to foreshadow that such sentiments shall circulate conversations like that of Dr. Harland for the foreseeable future.

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While non-disciplinary treatment programs support healthcare professionals experiencing substance use disorders, many of these programs are often accompanied by barriers to medication-assisted therapies (MAT) for substance use disorders. Vice, the New England Journal on Medicine, and other platforms have been rallying critiques regarding the exclusion of MAT in treatment programs for healthcare providers. The article provokes thought on the benefits of MAT’s universal utility and on how to overcome stigma within a system that is trying to defeat it.

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FilterMag writer, Sharda Sekaran, explores nuances in defining “harm reduction.” The article discusses interviews with director of the Open Society Institute’s International Harm Reduction Development Program, Daniel Wolfe, and with executive director of the National Harm Reduction Coalition, Monique Tula. Important advocates for harm reduction delve into the importance of phrasing, word-choice, and attitude when advising individuals on harm reduction strategies, and they advocate for such strategies in public health policy.

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The New York Times’ writer, Abby Goodnough, provides a stirring article on recent developments pertaining to the Biden Administration’s support for harm reduction programs. Goodnough captivates readers with an elaborate discussion on Federal funding for “evidence-based harm reduction programs,” while also focusing on the impacts of the trickle-down effects of the pandemic and the perpetuation of stigma on individuals with substance use disorders.

To read the full article, click here.

With the comeback of parties and nightlife, previously limited by COVID-19 restrictions, overdoses caused by fentanyl-laced cocaine have increased. NPR’s article assesses possible causes for the prevalence of fentanyl-laced cocaine, circulating a discussion around poly-substance use, the origins of substance mixing within cocaine supplies, and, finally, measures that should be taken to increase education and awareness around cocaine consumption.

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Naseem S. Miller investigates the intersectionality of health, race and gender in her article evaluating racial disparities in treatments for opioid use disorder. Miller connects the extensive history of systematic racism in the United States with drug policy, leading into an evidence- based discussion of disparities in treatment, especially as they pertain to MOUD.

To read the full article, click here.