Naloxone Background

National Drug Control Strategy

Date: 
Dec, 2014
Resource Type: 

The 2014 National Drug Control Strategy, a 21st century approach to drug policy that is built on decades of research demonstrating that addiction is a disease of the brain—one that can be prevented, treated, and from which people can recover. This document lays out an evidence-based plan for real drug policy reform, spanning the spectrum of effective prevention, early intervention, treatment, recovery support, criminal justice, law enforcement, and international cooperation.

What is the connection between prescription drug abuse and heroin?

Health care providers wrote 259 million prescriptions for opioid pain medications in 2012 – enough for every American adult to have a bottle of pills. Opioids are a class of prescription pain medications that includes hydrocodone, oxycodone, morphine, and methadone. Heroin belongs to the same class of drugs, and four in five heroin users started out by misusing prescription opioid pain medications.

Resources: 

National Drug Control Strategy

Date: 
Dec, 2014
Resource Type: 

The 2014 National Drug Control Strategy, a 21st century approach to drug policy that is built on decades of research demonstrating that addiction is a disease of the brain—one that can be prevented, treated, and from which people can recover. This document lays out an evidence-based plan for real drug policy reform, spanning the spectrum of effective prevention, early intervention, treatment, recovery support, criminal justice, law enforcement, and international cooperation.

Today’s Heroin Epidemic

Date: 
Jul, 2015
Resource Type: 

Each month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) release and monthly report called CDC Vital Signs. The July 2015 report focuses on today’s heroin epidemic and includes the latest statistics, response and prevention guidance, and what can be done at the federal, state, and provider levels.

Today’s Heroin Epidemic

Date: 
Jul, 2015
Resource Type: 

Each month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) release and monthly report called CDC Vital Signs. The July 2015 report focuses on today’s heroin epidemic and includes the latest statistics, response and prevention guidance, and what can be done at the federal, state, and provider levels.

Podcast Interview with Dr. Traci Green

Date: 
Oct, 2014
Resource Type: 

In this podcast, BJA Fellow Tara Kunkel discusses the opioid overdose epidemic in the state of Rhode Island with Dr. Traci Green, a researcher at Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital. In the interview, Dr. Green shares the steps that law enforcement agencies in Rhode Island have taken to address the epidemic and explains how – when properly trained – law enforcement can administer Naloxone to save lives when they arrive at the scene of an overdose.

How many opioid overdoses are there in the United States?

Claiming nearly 120 American lives daily, drug overdose is a true national crisis. The main driver of this epidemic is opioid overdose (OOD), which cuts across class, race, and demographic characteristics. Certain groups, including veterans, residents of rural and tribal areas, recently released inmates, and people completing drug treatment/detox programs are at an especially high risk of opioid overdose. Law enforcement officers are on the front lines of the battle against drug-related harm in our communities. The current opioid overdose crisis is no different.

Resources: 

A Heroin Epidemic and Changing Attitudes Towards Marijuana

Date: 
Aug, 2014
Resource Type: 

The summary of the Police Executive Research Forum’s National Summit on Illegal Drugs, held on April 16, 2014, in Washington, DC, which focused on two major issues: the growing epidemic of prescription opioid and heroin abuse and the legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington State (as well as medical marijuana in many other jurisdictions).

How can implementing agencies benefit from an overdose reversal program using naloxone?

First and foremost, an overdose reversal program offers a potential lifesaving opportunity. Additionally, individual officers have cited improved job satisfaction rooted in an improved ability to “do something” at the scene of an overdose. Law enforcement agencies that have implemented an overdose reversal program report improved community relations, leading to better intelligence-gathering capabilities.

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New York Department of Criminal Justice Services Officer Interview

Date: 
May, 2014
Resource Type: 

New York Police Department (NYPD) Officers speaking of their experience using and administering naloxone to prevent fatal opioid overdoses. Film by Joshua Vinehout, NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services.

Ocean County, NJ, Police Get Drug Overdose Antidote

Date: 
Feb, 2014
Contributor: 
Resource Type: 

 

Ocean County police officers learned how to administer the medication naloxone to temporarily reverse the effects of a narcotic overdose. Video courtesy of NJTV news and the Ocean County, NJ, Prosecutor's Office.

New York Department of Criminal Justice Services Officer Interview

Date: 
May, 2014
Resource Type: 

New York Police Department (NYPD) Officers speaking of their experience using and administering naloxone to prevent fatal opioid overdoses. Film by Joshua Vinehout, NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services.

Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Remarks

Date: 
Mar, 2014
Contributor: 
Resource Type: 

In one of former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's weekly video addresses, he calls the rise in heroin overdoses an urgent public health crisis and vows a mix of enforcement and treatment.

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