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The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has released a new guide for policy makers, public health and prevention professionals on evidence-based practices and service delivery models to prevent substance misuse. This guide is meant to help people with substance use disorders, serious mental illnesses and serious emotional disturbances. Chapters describe relevant research findings, detail best practices, bring attention to knowledge gaps and challenges of implementation, and provide other useful resources for readers. Research has shown that implementing evidence-based practices requires a comprehensive, multifaceted approach. This guide is one piece of the puzzle to implement and sustain change. SAMSHA encourages readers to visit its website for additional tools and technical assistance.
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Isotonitazene, also known as iso, is a new synthetic opioid rising in popularity across the United States. This new synthetic opioid has been found to be slightly more potent than fentanyl according to a report published in the journal Drug Testing and Analysis. Dr. Antonio De Filippo, addiction specialist and medical director at Delphi Behavioral Medical Group in Florida, warns that overdoses as a result of iso are rising exponentially, reporting that 40 to 50 deaths were caused by the drug per month compared to six a month last year. It is also worth noting that isotonitazene is legal in most places in the United States, including Indiana. This drug is a rising concern for numerous reasons. Isotonitazene may not be detected by drug test strips used by drug users to test for the presence of fentanyl because it is not widely used. This may give users a false sense that the drug they are using is safe, when it in fact could be incredibly dangerous and lead to overdose. Public health needs to further investigate isotonitazene and its new place among the opioids used in the United States.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has released a new report detailing the impact of the opioid epidemic on the black/African American population. The agency highlights that previous data has mainly focused on White suburban and rural communities, neglecting the black/African American community, despite similar rates of increase in opioid abuse and overdose. The rate of increase of black/African American drug overdose deaths between 2015-2016 was 40 percent compared to the overall population increase of 21 percent. This exceeded all other racial and ethnic population groups in the United States. This report aims to provide readers with the most up to date data on the prevalence of opioid misuse and overdose deaths among the black/African American community in the United States. Additionally, it discusses contextual factors surrounding this population that affect the opioid epidemic, both positively and negatively, as well as the importance of continued outreach to this minority group.
Trust for America’s Health (TFAH), a not-for-profit, has released an update to its 2018 report. TFAH found that close to 152,000 Americans died from alcohol, drugs or suicide in 2018. The data show a reduction in deaths due to prescription opioid overdose, but an increase in deaths involving synthetic opioids, which includes fentanyl. Death rates for all opioids decreased by 2 percent, but the death rate for synthetic opioids increased by 10 percent. Additionally, heroin overdose deaths were lower, but deaths involving cocaine and other psychostimulants ̶ such as methamphetamine, ecstasy, amphetamine and prescription stimulants ̶ were higher. The report also showed that for the first time since 1999, there has not been a significant increase in drug, alcohol and suicide death rates. However, this is not seen across all sub-groups of the population. American Indians, Asians, blacks, Latinos and older adults had increased drug-induced deaths between 2017 and 2018. Conversely, whites and adults ages 18-54 had lower drug-induced death rates in 2018. Continued surveillance of drug death rates will aid in understanding if these trends from 2018 hold as well as provide data on the effect of drug abuse interventions.
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