Updates

Resources for Monitoring Substance Use Trends

May 15, 2023

The drug landscape changes constantly as substances and analogues are introduced or used in different ways.

Resources
Welcoming Recovery

Stigma remains a challenge in community discussions of substance use disorder (SUD) and SUD treatment. It may create obstacles as an organization in a rural area works to establish a new treatment facility.

Resources
Resources for Monitoring Substance Use Trends

The drug landscape changes constantly as substances and analogues are introduced or used in different ways.

Abstract
What Agencies and Providers Are Saying About the Dangers of Xylazine

Federal and state agencies, local health departments, and health care providers across the country have become increasingly concerned about the rise of xylazine, an adulterant often found in combination with fentanyl and also mix

Overcome
White House Analysts Discuss Multifaceted Effort to Overcome Overdose Crisis
White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Senior Policy Analyst Peter Gaumond and General Counsel Robert Kent laid out a series of programs in the Biden-Harris Administration National Drug Control Strategy that are intended to build recovery ecosystems in communities nationwide.
Community
For Two Award-Winning Authors, Community Is Crucial to Overcoming the Overdose Crisis
Sam Quinones and Beth Macy have spent much of their careers as journalists and authors covering this nation’s overdose crisis. At the Taking Action Summit, they both stressed that community engagement—and the sense of purpose and belonging it gives rise to—is capable of turning the tide.
LGBTQ
Improving Prevention and Care Outcomes for LGBTQ People: Safer Spaces and Better Data Collection
Dr. John Blosnich discussed how LGBTQ people with substance use disorder contend not just with stigma related to SUD but with stigma related to sexual orientation and gender identity, which can be unintentionally yet overtly part of the health care experience in rural areas.
Stigma
Tony Hoffman Highlights the Costs of Institutional Stigma
Tony Hoffman, co-founder of pH Wellness, reflected on how his substance use disorder eventually led to homelessness and how that experience gave him perspective on the stigma faced by people in similar circumstances. Instead of blaming people, he feels a sense of compassion and empathy. Rather than judging them, he wonders about the source of the pain that led to SUD.
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Causes and Consequences of Racial Health Inequities
Dr. Uché Blackstock broke down the causes of health care inequity—describing the “4 I’s of Oppression,” a framework through which an organization can advance change.
Peer Support
Critical Role of Peer Specialists in Recovery: An Example
Yara Castro, Martin Felix, and Kassandra Figueroa discussed how utilizing peer support is critical both for individuals in recovery and to strengthen coordination of care across systems.
Daus
How Dominant Narratives Influence Health Inequity

Public health analyst in the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Office of Health Equity, Gem Daus defines health inequities as differences in health status that are unnecessary, avoidable, unfair, and unjust.

Danica Brown
Culture, Connection, and Community
How do Indigenous knowledge and evidence-based practices work together to help people with substance use disorder in Tribal communities on their path to recovery? Dr. Danica Love Brown outlined various ways at the Taking Action Summit.
Title card of text for presentation
How Providers and Educators in Appalachian Kentucky Came Together to Deliver Buprenorphine Treatment
Video with Dr. Cheryl McClain and David A. Gross, MPA.