February 2nd is Groundhog Day – that momentous day when a furry woodland creature’s shadow (or lack of) supposedly predicts an early or late Spring. You may be wondering, “What does Groundhog Day have to do with substance use disorder?” That takes us to the 1993 movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray in which the … Read more
The U.S. Department for Health and Human Services, in partnership with the U.S. Postal Service, is offering 4 free at-home COVID-19 tests to all U.S. households, including U.S territories and overseas military and diplomatic addresses. The tests are completely free. Orders will usually ship in 7-12 days. Click here to order your free at-home tests. The … Read more
The New Year brings an opportunity to start fresh with new ways of thinking about addiction and recovery! Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) wrote an essay with recommendations for how to change traditional thinking about substance misuse and what it means to be in recovery. Characterizing drug addiction … Read more
A new synthetic opioid has been discovered and has warranted a public alert from the Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS) Discovery, a branch of the Center for Forensic Science Research and Education (CFSRE). Protonitazene has a similar structure to other synthetic opioids but is almost three times more potent than fentanyl. Since May of 2021, nine … Read more
Protonitazene is a new, potent synthetic opioid bearing structural resemblance to etonitazene, a synthetic opioid that is nationally and internationally controlled. Protonitazene is dissimilar in structure to synthetic opioids typically encountered in forensic casework (e.g., fentanyl, heroin); however, protonitazene is a structural isomer of isotonitazene, requiring increased analytical specificity during toxicological analysis. In vitro pharmacological … Read more
The Tennessee Department of Health, in collaboration with Knox County and East Tennessee Regional Health Departments, is responding to an increase in newly diagnosed HIV with substantial hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfection among persons who inject drugs (PWID) in your area. Many of these new HIV infections are molecularly similar using whole genome sequencing. In … Read more
December is also National Impaired Driving Prevention Month. In 2018, more than 10,000 people died as a result of alcohol-impaired driving. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 56% of drivers involved in serious injury and fatal crashes test positive for at least one drug. The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) reports that … Read more
December is Universal Human Rights Month. December 10 is World Human Rights Day. The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights decrees that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. As members of Project HOPE and RCORP-ETC, we know that stigma and discrimination are commonplace for the populations we aim to … Read more
The injectable opioid reversal medication, naloxone, is in significant short supply. The main producer, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, stopped production in April 2021 due to manufacturing issues. The Opioid Safety and Naloxone Network (OSNN) buyers’ club, a collective of harm reduction programs across the country, is the biggest buyer of the medication. They estimate that there is … Read more
November 20, 2021 is International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day, also known as Survivors’ Day. Created by Congress in 1999 after a senator lost his father to suicide, it is intended as a day of comfort, support, and togetherness for people impacted by suicide. It was purposely chosen to fall on the Saturday before Thanksgiving … Read more
