Naloxone (also called Narcan®) is an inexpensive, FDA-approved generic drug that works to reverse an opioid overdose, including fentanyl overdose, by restoring breath to unconscious overdose victims. Naloxone is not psychoactive, has no potential for misuse or abuse, and side effects are rare. Though all 50 states and the District of Columbia have passed legislation designed to improve layperson access to naloxone, these laws vary widely in scope.
May 08, 2021
by Julie Parry
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic over a year ago, alcohol and substance use has surged in the United States, along with overdoses from opioids. To save lives, using practical strategies to reduce the negative effects of substance use, or harm reduction strategies should become federal health policy now, urges experts Kimberly Sue, MD, PhD, and David Fiellin, MD, from the Yale Program in Addiction Medicine.
The New England Journal of Medicine, they urge the Biden administration to name, embrace, and implement harm reduction programs to save American lives. In addition to expanding treatment, they argue, there is a need for additional measures to abate the tidal wave of death from overdoses. Additionally, they say funds should be allocated to combat the health inequities and racial injustice for Black Americans who are suffering from a disproportionate rise in deaths from substance use disorders, along with COVID-19.
White House releases Jan. logs of visitors to Biden, aides
DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated Press
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1of3President Joe Biden waves as he walks to Marine One on the Ellipse near the White House, Friday, May 7, 2021, in Washington. Biden is spending the weekend at Camp David in Maryland.Patrick Semansky/APShow MoreShow Less
2of3Marine One, with President Joe Biden aboard, lifts off from the Ellipse near the White House, Friday, May 7, 2021, in Washington. Biden is spending the weekend at Camp David in Maryland.Patrick Semansky/APShow MoreShow Less
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WASHINGTON (AP) The White House on Friday began voluntarily identifying people who visited with President Joe Biden or his aides, reinstating a practice put in place by Democrat Barack Obama but later dropped by Republican Donald Trump.