OVERDOSE PREVENTION

Ren in Information on U.S. States
April 18, 2023

Naloxone Helps Save Addicts from Overdoses, but Treatment Must Follow

Naloxone has been, at times, a controversial medicine because some view its availability as encouraging drug use. Those who hold this perspective believe that, if addicts have access to naloxone, they may feel more inclined to use drugs...

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Editorial Staff in Opioid Crisis
February 27, 2023

Why Do Drug Overdoses Spike During Winter? A Look at Cold Weather-Related Risk Factors

Research has shown a possible connection between cold weather and a heightened risk for overdose. Several factors may contribute to this, like cold weather making it more likely addicts will use drugs at home by themselves, therefore being less likely to have someone nearby who can render aid if the addict overdoses. The findings act as yet another reason why family members of addicts have to act fast to get their loved ones’ help.

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Ren in Dealing with Addiction
August 27, 2019

What Happens During an Overdose and What Can You Do About It?

I’ve always believed the best way to tackle a problem was to first learn as much about the problem as possible. So when one of my closest friends died from an overdose in 2012, I dedicated a good deal of time and my career to learning about the dangerous phenomenon of overdose.

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Ren in Drug use trends
August 21, 2019

Is Carfentanil the New Super-Drug?

We often ask questions such as “Why has the U.S. drug problem been going on for so long?” We might look for the answer in the fact that nearly every year we are exposed to a new drug (or two or three).

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Ren in Opioid Crisis
August 6, 2019

Is Naloxone Creating a Barrier in Solving the Opioid Epidemic?

Naloxone is hailed as a revolutionary medicine, a turning point for the medical industry, a lifesaving approach to opioid addicts, and a solution to the opioid epidemic. Three of those four statements were correct, and one was not.

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Ren in Drug overdoses
July 6, 2019

Is there a Connection Between Cold Weather and Opioid Overdoses?

I saw an article in U.S. News that shed entirely new and unique light on addiction and drug overdoses. This news piece sought to determine the correlation between increasing overdose statistics and cold weather.

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Ren in Prescription drugs
May 17, 2019

We Just Celebrated National Prescription Drug Take Back Day—What’s Next?

April 27th was “Prescription Drug Take Back Day,” a day which is celebrated in both April and October. The event was initially created and sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Administration. And why do we need two days per year where we all get together and dispose of unused prescription drugs?

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Ren in Drug overdoses
April 6, 2019

What We Can Learn from the Overdose Capital of the U.S.

I saw a headline yesterday that read “City with the Most Per Capita Overdose Deaths in the Nation Begins to Recover.” It caught my eye.

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KH
Karen Hadley in Opioid Crisis
February 15, 2019

Synthetic Opioid Fentanyl: Now the #1 Drug Involved in Overdose Deaths

Surviving addiction to opioids like heroin becomes vastly harder when an unpredictable and powerful illicit drug like fentanyl hits the market and spreads across the country. Tragically, an increasing number of people are not surviving their encounters with this drug.

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Ren in Drug Rehabilitation
January 31, 2019

How Could Hospitals Direct OD Patients to Treatment Centers?

Most of the time, when someone overdoses on drugs, they are taken to a hospital which treats the overdose. Of course, this is what happens when the addict is around someone who can call 911. But what happens when the patient recovers from the overdose?

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