The Emerging Trends in Addiction Medicine Podcast series features the learnings of hospitals taking part in the CA Bridge Centers of Excellence project. In addition to sharing best practices for low-threshold access to buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder, this series will explore emerging treatment pathways for stimulant use disorder and post-overdose care. The series will also share learnings from the Centers of Excellence hospitals’ response to the increased supply of fentanyl in California so that all hospitals are able to address the overdose crisis with evidence-based care.

Overdose deaths in the United States dropped by nearly 17% between July 2023 and July 2024. However, over 93,000 people died of drug overdose in that period, more than the number of people who died from vehicle-caused accidents or firearms combined. This remains an urgent public health issue that requires evidence-based solutions. Public health interventions saved lives and must be expanded. Effective interventions include: the overdose prevention drug naloxone, expanded harm reduction services such as fentanyl test strips, increased access to medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), and drug education based in facts, not fear.

Words matter, especially when talking about substance use disorder (SUD). Shatterproof recognizes the difficulty of making language changes across organizations and systems. That’s why they created training materials that are made available for everyone wanting to make a difference.

The holidays can be a difficult time for many. That’s why Mid- America ATTC developed a holiday toolkit. This toolkit includes tips for people in recovery and those who support them, harm reduction techniques for those who want to cut back during the holidays, self-care ideas, LGBTQ+ and recovery resources, and more!

In recent years overdose death rates have been highest among American Indian and Alaskan Native People. Research prioritized by native communities is essential for enhancing and promoting positive health outcomes. The Native Collective Research Effort to Enhance Wellness (N CREW) Program will support research projects led directly by Tribes and organizations that serve Native American communities. The NIH will also support the development of a Native Research Network to provide training, resources, and real-time support to N CREW participants.

The toolkit was conceived and developed by Arlene Brown, a member of the Bishop Paiute Tribe, with support from NHRC staff, including Jessica Smith. It draws on insights from Tribal and Urban Native communities throughout California and incorporates resources from Indigenous harm reduction leaders across the nation and beyond.

The El Dorado Coalition for Overdose Prevention and Education created a template to be used for other overdose prevention coalitions to use for outlining the overdose crisis locally, their coalition's history, achievements, and ways for new members to get involved. This fact sheet can serve as an effective tool for communication and engagement with the community, coalition partners, and local decision-makers.

The El Dorado Coalition for Overdose Prevention and Education created a template to be used for other overdose prevention coalitions to use for outlining the overdose crisis locally, their coalition's history, achievements, and ways for new members to get involved. This fact sheet can serve as an effective tool for communication and engagement with the community, coalition partners, and local decision-makers.

Drug overdoses have affected all communities across the United States. Yet there are notable racial and ethnic disparities that have emerged over the past 25 years, even though people of all races and ethnicities use drugs at similar rates. Racism, lack of access to treatment and services, targeted drug enforcement, and stigma are some of the most common factors contributing to these tragic losses in our communities. DPA has developed three new fact sheets that describe overdose death trends among Black, Latinx, and Native American communities. They also provide policy recommendations and strategies for how our elected officials can save lives. 

Drug overdoses have affected all communities across the United States. Yet there are notable racial and ethnic disparities that have emerged over the past 25 years, even though people of all races and ethnicities use drugs at similar rates. Racism, lack of access to treatment and services, targeted drug enforcement, and stigma are some of the most common factors contributing to these tragic losses in our communities. DPA has developed three new fact sheets that describe overdose death trends among Black, Latinx, and Native American communities. They also provide policy recommendations and strategies for how our elected officials can save lives. 

Drug overdoses have affected all communities across the United States. Yet there are notable racial and ethnic disparities that have emerged over the past 25 years, even though people of all races and ethnicities use drugs at similar rates. Racism, lack of access to treatment and services, targeted drug enforcement, and stigma are some of the most common factors contributing to these tragic losses in our communities. DPA has developed three new fact sheets that describe overdose death trends among Black, Latinx, and Native American communities. They also provide policy recommendations and strategies for how our elected officials can save lives. 

The Drug Policy Alliance’s newest video resource is focused on dispelling myths surrounding fentanyl and features, Dr. Goodman-Meza an expert on the intersection of infectious diseases and addiction. He knows better than most how crucial it is for us to approach drug use and the overdose crisis with solutions based in health and science.

ChangeLab Solutions has developed guides that offer a range of evidence-based policy strategies and a roadmap to policy implementation that can advance equity and prioritize care over punishment for people who use drugs. The strategies are intended to support state and local decision makers, government agency staff, public health practitioners, and community members in considering policies to prevent overdose and reduce other drug-related harm in their communities.

Explore ASTHO’s Public Health Legal Mapping Center, which utilizes interactive tools to analyze state laws on overdose prevention and public health infrastructure, tracking changes and trends over time.

This toolkit provides you with content to amplify the New Drug Talk message and includes: resources to share on social media, messaging guidelines, and draft email outreach.

What steps can communities take to incorporate health equity in overdose prevention? The following summary provides concrete examples of thoughtful approaches to applying health equity in overdose prevention at the local level to address rising rates of overdose. Case studies were drawn from overdose prevention coalitions participating in the California Overdose Prevention Network (COPN) Accelerator 4.0 Program. These can serve as models for other coalitions and organizations across the country.

OD Free Marin provided their naloxone instructional pocket card PDF for other individuals to use as an example to adapt for local use.

The Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association developed the 2023 State of the State, which guides state leaders on the most effective approaches to addressing the opioid and other drug epidemic by identifying 10 evidence-based policy approaches to reduce overdoses. Each of the 10 strategies outlined in the Roadmap points to a specific type of policy that states can implement to reduce overdose deaths and increase access to substance use treatment.

A Division for Advancing Prevention and Treatment (ADAPT) supports the National High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Program by operationalizing the National HIDTA Prevention Strategy. ADAPT and HIDTA has created curriculum for implementing and evaluating substance use prevention practices within communities and has created videos to assist communities with keeping up to date with advances in prevention science. Their video library has s variety of trainings and technical webinars to cultivate, nurture, and support implementation of their prevention programming and curriculum.

The National High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Program has developed the Prevention Intervention Resource Center (PIRC). PIRC serves as a repository for publicly available resources for HIDTA communities to advance their evidence-based prevention programming. They have free curriculum available that includes: Sharing Substance-Related Information with Youth 11-18: Integrating the Best Available Evidence to Prevent Unintended Harm, Developing a Communications Plan, Developing Messaging Messaging through Mass Media, and so much more.