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Stigmatization of users, unintended consequences of criminal penalties and a lack of communication across systems all hamper clear data collection that could improve people’s quality of life in other area.

A 600-page report published Thursday encourages federal, state and local lawmakers to think “beyond traditional silos” and innovate ways to stem adverse effects of addiction and increasing drug overdose deaths among Americans. Read more»

National Guard Sgt. Tommy Morga educates parents about how drugs like fentanyl are sold through social media apps such as Snapchat. Although drug dealers operate through many social media platforms, experts are most worried about Snapchat due to the app’s anonymity, disappearing messages and lack of third-party monitoring.

Although drug dealers operate on many social media platforms, experts are most worried about Snapchat due to the app’s anonymity, and an Arizona effort is underway to help inform parents of the dangers of fentanyl and cartels’ use of social media to reach vulnerable youth. Read more»

More schools around the country are ordering Narcan kits like this to reverse overdoses of opioids, including deadly fentanyl.

School districts around the country - including Arizona, one of only six states that requires schools to have a naloxone policy - are trying to quickly respond to the growing toll from fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin. Read more»

Customs and Border Protection officers after the January 2019 seizure of 650 pounds of fentanyl and methamphetamines in Nogales. Experts say an increase in the availability of such deadly drugs, combined with the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, led to historic levels of drug overdoses in the U.S. last year.

The COVID-19 pandemic and a growing unsafe drug supply combined to push overdose deaths up by 27.6% in the U.S. over a 12-month period from 2020 to 2021, a surge in deaths that was matched in Arizona. Read more»

El gobierno federal ha otorgado $ 5.6 millones para capacitar mejor a los trabajadores médicos de emergencia rurales, incluso en el uso de naloxona o Narcan en caso de situaciones de emergencia por sobredosis de opioides.

En medio de dos crisis que se cruzan en Estados Unidos, una epidemia de opioides y el maltrato de las llamadas de emergencia de salud mental, el gobierno federal ha otorgado $ 5.6 millones para capacitar mejor a los trabajadores médicos de emergencia rurales. Read more»

The federal government has awarded $5.6 million to better train rural emergency medical workers, including in the use of naloxone or Narcan in case of opioid overdose emergency situations.

Amid two intersecting crises in America – an opioid epidemic and mistreatment of emergency mental health calls – the federal government has awarded $5.6 million to better train rural emergency medical workers to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness. Read more»

When harm-reduction groups can’t order naloxone, the people they serve can die.

As overdose deaths nationwide reach all-time highs, increasing access to naloxone is a key part of the Biden administration's overdose prevention strategy - but advocates say the administration has not addressed their greatest barrier to obtaining the lifesaving medication. Read more»

Jaclyn Brown is a volunteer coordinator for the Arizona nonprofit Shot in the Dark, which provides drug users with clean syringes, medication to reverse an opioid overdose and fentanyl testing strips.

Jaclyn Brown has transformed grief from losing her brother to an overdose into action; since August 2020, Brown has served as volunteer coordinator at Shot in the Dark, a nonprofit that provides clean syringes, overdose medication, and other resources to people struggling with addiction. Read more»

The nonprofit group Shot in the Dark offers safe injection kits at its needle exchange sites. The kits typically include clean needles, alcohol wipes, swabs and tourniquets. A law taking effect next month legalizes such programs, which research shows are effective in reducing the transmission of viral infections through dirty needles.

Arizona lawmakers in May passed legislation with bipartisan support legalizing syringe access programs, and Gov. Doug Ducey signed the measure days later. The law takes effect Sept. 28, 90 days after the June 30 conclusion of the legislative session. Read more»

State health department data show that an average of two people a day in Arizona have died of opioid overdoses – both illicit drugs like heroin and fentanyl and prescripion drugs – in recent years.

While use of the opioid overdose rescue drug naloxone has skyrocketed in recent years, few of chronic pain patients at high risk of overdose are receiving it. Read more»

Arizona law requires doctors to check a state database before they write a new prescription for a controlled substance, such as prescription opioids. But more than 60 percent do not.

Arizona law requires doctors to check a state database before they write a new prescription for a controlled substance, such as opioids. Yet less than 40 percent do. Read more»

At a press conference held at Arizona’s executive tower on Monday afternoon, Gov. Doug Ducey declared a special session, beginning immediately, to address the opioid crisis.

Gov. Doug Ducey on Monday called a special legislative session to battle the opioid epidemic in Arizona, asking lawmakers to fund and expand health care. Read more»

Paraphernalia used to shoot up heroin iincludes a syringe and part of a soft drink can.

The administration's proposal comes amid a rising heroin epidemic in the nation and in Arizona, where overdose deaths have risen steadily. The funding would go toward prevention strategies, medication-assisted treatment programs and efforts to reduce drug crimes. Read more»

Capt. Robb Anders, a paramedic with the Tempe Fire Department, holds vials of Narcan, the brand name of naloxone. When administered to people who have overdosed on opiates, Narcan triggers immediate withdrawal and can save their lives.

The bill would allow more first responders such as peace officers and basic-level emergency medical technicians to carry and administer naloxone hydrochloride and other opiate antidotes. Read more»

Capt. Robb Anders, a paramedic with the Tempe Fire Department, holds vials of Narcan, the brand name of naloxone. When administered to people who have overdosed on opiates, Narcan triggers immediate withdrawal and can save their lives.

When a person overdoses on an opiate-based painkiller, life or death can hinge on how quickly a first responder or doctor administers drugs known as opiate antagonists. A state lawmaker wants to allow more first responders to give them to overdose victims. Read more»