New national standards aim to change doctors’ prescribing habits for hospital patients with pain when they’re discharged home. But clinicians also need to ensure patients’ pain is well managed.
Dr. Laura Kehoe gives a presentation about why emergency room physicians should prescribe buprenorphine for people recovering from opioid overdoses.
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After battling drug manufacturers and distributors in court for years, local and state governments are about to receive a windfall that could expand access to treatments that can save lives.
Methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine distributed by the Drug User Liberation Front, a grassroots organization proving a safe supply of illicit drugs, in Vancouver, in April 2021.
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People are dying from using a toxic drug supply. Safer supply and other approaches that listen to the needs of people who use drugs are critical to saving lives and addressing the opioid crisis.
We researched how much difference opioids like codeine, oxycodone or morphine make to osteoarthritis pain. We found they helped about as much as paracetamol. Yet they are far more dangerous.
The concept of placebos – which are sometimes called “sugar pills” – has been around since the 1800s.
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Drug manufacturers often shun the use of placebos in clinical trials. But research suggests that placebos could play an important role in the treatment of depression, pain and other maladies.
A part of the brain called the lateral parabrachial nucleus regulates pain, anxiety and breathing.
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Sung Han, University of California, San Diego and Shijia Liu, University of California, San Diego
Opioids can cause death by slowing breathing to dangerously low levels, or stopping it altogether. Examining one area of the brain may eventually lead to safer painkillers.
Exercise spurs the release of the body’s natural cannabinoids, which have myriad benefits for mental health and stress relief.
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A growing body of research points to the body’s natural cannabinoid system as the primary driver behind the runner’s high – and the mental health boost and stress relief following exercise.
Emblems of America’s epidemics.
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The number of fatal drug overdoses in the US over a 12-month period has surpassed 100,000 for the first time. Fentanyl is the main driver of the spike in deaths.
People around the world mourned loved ones on International Overdose Awareness Day on Aug. 31, 2021.
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Ending the opioid epidemic requires addressing not only treatment gaps in addiction and overdose, but also inadequate pain management.
Naloxone can prevent deaths from opioid overdose, but there is no way to reverse the effects of benzodiazepine overdose without risk.
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Fentanyl adulteration led to the replacement of heroin in the unregulated drug supply of British Columbia. Now that benzodiazepines are present in many opioids, are we headed towards a ‘new normal?’
One potential way to make opioids less addictive is to make them target injured tissue rather than the healthy brain.
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While the COVID-19 pandemic raged on, the opioid epidemic got worse as drug overdose deaths soared. New research proposes a way to chemically modify opioids to reduce the risk of addiction.
As recreational cannabis use increases, so has the number of calls regarding dogs who have accidentally consumed cannabis products.
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Accidental ingestion of drugs can have detrimental effects on dogs’ health. Education and awareness can help protect pets from consuming opioids and cannabis products.
Pandemic-driven isolation and job loss have been especially hard for people recovering from opioid addiction to bear.
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The jury’s still out on whether or not CBD relieves stress and anxiety.
Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen announced a settlement between the Justice Department and opioid maker Purdue on Oct. 21.
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The Office for National Statistics reports the highest drug deaths since records began in 1993.
Josh Ledesma displays safe injection supplies with outreach specialist Rachel Bolton outside the Access Drug User Health Program drop-in center in Cambridge, Massachusetts on March 31, 2020.
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