Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Federal Effort To Lower Opioid Overdoses By 40% Failed To Work
In 2019, amid an ever-worsening drug crisis, the federal government launched a research study with an ambitious goal: to lower opioid overdoses in participating communities by 40% using evidence-based interventions like distributing naloxone and providing access to addiction medications. (Facher, 6/16)
Amid the encouraging decline in opioid-related deaths across Massachusetts in 2023, there was one significant exception: the City of Boston, which recorded the highest number of deaths in seven years, according to newly released state data. The higher number of overdose deaths was a grim reminder Boston remains the epicenter of the opioid crisis in Massachusetts, said Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, the city鈥檚 public health commissioner, in an interview Thursday. (Laughlin, 6/14)
Some inmates leaving Kansas prisons are returning to civilian life with a potentially lifesaving tool in hand. The Kansas Department of Corrections recently launched a program that provides the outgoing inmates with naloxone, the opioid antidote that can quickly reverse the effects of an overdose. The medication, which is also sold under the brand name Narcan, can combat the deadly effects of drugs like prescription painkillers, heroin and fentanyl. (Lysen, 6/17)
El Dorado County cannot enforce its ban on programs that hand out clean syringes as a legal battle continues between the county and the California Department of Public Health, a Superior Court judge has ruled. Judge Gary S. Slossberg granted a preliminary injunction to prevent El Dorado County from enforcing an ordinance that makes it unlawful to operate syringe programs in its unincorporated areas. (Alpert Reyes, 6/15)
Many pregnant women who struggle with drugs put off prenatal care, feeling ashamed and judged. But as fatal overdoses rise, some clinics see pregnancy as an ideal time to help them confront addiction. (Hoffman, 6/16)
