Emergency overdose reversals in Cass County reach alarming levels kvrr.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kvrr.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Robert Nickelsberg
Overview
Over the past decade, attempts to address the overdose crisis in the U.S. have resulted in more restrictive opioid prescribing policies which, because they have reduced the overall availability of prescription opioids, have inadvertently led to a surge in the use of illicit drugs such as heroin.
Because these illicit opioids are often injected, they’re associated with higher rates of overdose than prescription painkillers, and, when unsterile injection equipment is used or shared, people are at risk of getting a serious infection or transmitting disease.
1 As of March 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined that 44 states; Washington, D.C.; one tribal nation; and one territory were experiencing or at risk of an acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) or HIV outbreak due to injection drug use.
Syringe Distribution Programs Can Improve Public Health During the Opioid Overdose Crisis pewtrusts.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from pewtrusts.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
FAIRFIELD-SUISUN, CALIFORNIA
Editorial | Volunteer-based needle exchange program providing vital services and saving lives, but needs better oversight [Santa Cruz Sentinel, Calif.]
Dec. 20 Few local outreach endeavors have been as controversial as the efforts to exchange clean needles for used ones with intravenous drug users.
The community debate continues, even as overdose deaths in California and the U.S. multiply during the COVID-19 pandemic and the continuing opioid crisis. Santa Cruz County continues to see a surge of drug overdose deaths this year although health officials says the rate is significantly less here than the state.
The Harm Reduction Coalition of Santa Cruz County is a volunteer-based needle exchange nonprofit working to prevent needless deaths among the addicted. Coalition founder and Aptos resident Denise Elerick recently spoke with the Sentinel Editorial Board about the group’s emphasis on providing clean syringes to drug users, among other needed heal