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Resources by Topic: Illicit drug use

Opioid Addiction: Laws, Regulations, and Other Factors Can Affect Medication-Assisted Treatment Access
Examines current federal laws and regulations related to the medication-assisted treatment (MAT) of opioid dependency, and discusses how these laws affect access to treatment, including in rural areas. Also explores other factors that affect access to treatment such as cost, insurance coverage, practitioner availability, and perceived value. Provides detailed descriptions about the uses and concerns of the three medications currently approved by the FDA for use in opioid MAT - methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 09/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Results from the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Detailed Tables
Provides data on use of illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco, trends in substance use disorder and mental health, and access to treatment for youth 12-17 and adults. Features statistics for a variety of demographic and geographic characteristics.
Date: 09/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
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Fentanyl Law Enforcement Submissions and Increases in Synthetic Opioid-Involved Overdose Deaths - 27 States, 2013-2014
Reports on drugs testing positive for fentanyl. Provides information on synthetic opioid-involved deaths other than methadone, including fentanyl deaths. For 27 states with death certificate reporting of drugs involved in overdoses, provides data for metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncore areas.
Author(s): R. Matthew Gladden, Pedro Martinez, Puja Seth
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 65(33), 837-843
Date: 08/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Talking Rural Opioid Use at the United Nations: Q&A with Holly Andrilla
An interview with rural health researcher Holly Andrilla of the WWAMI Rural Health Research Center, recounting her experience presenting to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime in Vienna, Austria. Provides an international perspective on substance abuse prevention and treatment.
Author(s): Zachary Toliver
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 08/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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HIV Infection Linked to Injection Use of Oxymorphone in Indiana, 2014-2015
Examines the scope and source of an outbreak of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection due to a single HIV type 1 (HIV-1) strain in a small rural community in Indiana. Discusses how prescription opioid analgesic abuse and the injection of drugs has contributed to the rapid spread of the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HIV. Describes how contact tracing was used to develop control measures and offers several recommendations on how to prevent similar outbreaks in the future.
Author(s): Philip J. Peters, Pamela Pontones, Karen W. Hoover, et al.
Citation: New England Journal of Medicine, 375, 229-239
Date: 07/2016
Type: Document
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Families in Crisis: The Human Service Implications of Rural Opioid Misuse
Presents findings and policy recommendations from the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services' 2016 meeting with rural residents, healthcare providers, and stakeholders regarding the impact and effects of opioid use disorders on rural families. Topics addressed include drug overdose and death, conflict with partners and children, emotional disturbance, adverse health risks, and related impacts on employment and economic sustainability.
Date: 07/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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On Pills and Needles: Counties Fight the Opioid Drug Crisis
Special issue focused on how counties are responding to the opioid crisis. Includes an interview with Michael Botticelli, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, focused on the federal response to rural opioid abuse.
Citation: County News
Date: 07/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Counties
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The Opioid Epidemic: Rural Organizations Fight Back
Highlights programs across the country, such as the ANGEL Program, the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (PARRI) and the Second Chance Drug Initiative, in which police departments and treatment facilities work together to fight addiction and move drug users toward treatment rather than incarceration. Also discusses the use and availability of naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal drug.
Author(s): Zachary Toliver
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 06/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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The Communities That Care Coalition Model for Improving Community Health through Clinical-Community Partnerships: A Population Health Case Report
Discussion paper featuring a community coalition in rural western Massachusetts focused on supporting youth well-being and reducing youth substance abuse. Describes the initiative and the partners involved, including clinicians and public health. Discusses how the Communities That Care Coalition works within a network of local coalitions, including acting as the prevention arm of the region's Opioid Task Force.
Author(s): Jeanette Voas, Katherine Allen, Ruth Potee
Date: 05/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Academy of Medicine
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The Opioid Epidemic: Testing the Limits of Rural Healthcare
Discusses the factors that make rural communities vulnerable to the ongoing opioid epidemic and efforts needed in rural areas to address this crisis, including the role of rural first responders.
Author(s): Zachary Toliver
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 05/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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