Single-Step Naloxone Most Effective in Reversing Overdoses

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Addiction professionals and first responders cope with a lot of variables when responding to an overdose, but nothing has changed the outcomes of emergency calls like Naloxone (also known as Narcan), an opioid antagonist drug that has the power to reverse overdoses. There are several versions of Naloxone delivery available. However, research has revealed that the single-step nasal inhaler seems to be most effective at reversing overdoses, according to new research led by faculty at Binghamton University, State University at New York.

In the past few years, expanded access to naloxone has saved thousands of lives by reversing fatal overdoses in people with opioid use disorder. While many people who overdose are not ready for help yet, others identify the moment their overdose occurred as a pivotal point in their life that helped them choose to get into recovery. Law enforcement and other first responders carry the drug on them …

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Fentanyl-Cocaine Combo Causing Deaths in MD

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In Maryland, the government has been doing its best to fight the addiction crisis, but they’re not yet winning: in 2017, the number of fatal overdoses increased 9%. Most of these overdoses (90%) were considered to be opioid-induced, with Fentanyl overdoses increased by 42 percent last year, rising from 1,119 in 2016 to 1,594. Fentanyl is a drug that is 50 times stronger than heroin and is typically used in a medical setting. When added to other street drugs, it can be deadly, especially if novice opioid users are taking the drug. In Maryland, they have discovered that a fentanyl-cocaine combination of drugs is causing deaths. Between 2015 and 2016, cocaine deaths doubled because of this lethal combination.

The Maryland Department of Health Secretary Rober R. Neall called the increase in fentanyl-related deaths “staggering.” Officials think that the overdose deaths of cocaine containing fentanyl were accidental; the user may …

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Fake Street Pills Made With Deadly Opiates Now Common

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People addicted to Oxycontin often resort to desperate measures, including buying their pills on the street. Unfortunately, addicted persons who buy these pills are discovering that they’re fake street pills. They are now being linked to carfentanil and cyclopropyl fentanyl overdoses in New Jersey and across the country.  New Jersey is just one of many states that has experienced deadly incidents of street pills – typically sold as Oxycontin or Hydrocodone — giving their users more than they bargained for.

Luckily, in Holmdel and Long Branch New Jersey, investigators were able to seize the pills before anyone got hurt – as far as they know, anyway. (It takes months for a state Bureau of investigation to tally the figures that include deaths from any illicit drugs.) The seizure was made last week, and the oxycodone pills were found to not contain oxycodone at all. In fact, they contained carfentanil, a …

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2C-I or “Smiles” Linked to Recent Deaths

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Authorities are investigating whether a new designer drug played a role in a gruesome Los Angeles homicide that involved a young actor.

Johnny Lewis, who appeared in the series “Sons of Anarchy,” is suspected of being under the influence of 2C -I (also known as “Smiles”) when he allegedly beat his 81-year-old landlady to death and then attacked a neighbor. The neighbor managed to escape and Lewis was later found dead by police after he apparently fell from a wall at the neighbor’s house.…

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U.S. Drug Deaths Outnumber Traffic Fatalities

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Due to the rise in prescription drug abuse, the number of drug-related deaths in the U.S. now outnumbers traffic fatalities, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Although the number of deaths from most preventable causes is declining across the nation, the death toll from drugs is steadily rising.  Every 14 minutes, someone in America dies from drugs.…

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A Mother’s Loss Influences Oxy Legislation

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Legislative Action Comes in Memory of Ryan Creedon

Ryan Creedon overdosed on OxyContin on September 4, 2009, he was only 21. Creedon fell into the alarming national trend of abusing prescription pills.

Creedon’s mother, Kathy Creedon said that Ryan would run around Palm Desert California, from doctor’s office to doctor’s office to refill his Oxy prescriptions.

Creedon’s mother said, “It’s like watching your child slowly kill themselves. By the time he was 18 or 19, he had started using prescription medications like OxyContin.”

She also pointed out that it was an addiction that was not easily hidden.
“Every time he would get a job, he would go to work under the influence or he was stealing to support his habit,” said Creedon’s mother. 

What bothered Creedon’s mother the most was how easy it was for Creedon to get his prescription medication. “He went from one end of this valley to …

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Acclaimed Jockey Michael Baze Dead from Cocaine Overdose in Kentucky

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Michael Baze, 24, was found dead in his car on May 10 near the Churchill Downs stables in Louisville Kentucky. The toxicology report given by Jefferson County Deputy Coroner Jim Wesley on Friday, said that Baze died from multiple substance intoxication.

The Toxicology report stated that a significant amount of cocaine was in Baze’s system. There was also a significant amount of oxymorphone, which is a pain medication sold under the brand name of Opana. …

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Elderly Man Overdoses after Drinking Heroin Tea

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On August 21 of last year police found Nicholas Tyrrell, 51, dead in his apartment. A concerned neighbor, Ronald Potter, called the police after he had not seen Tyrrell for four days. An inquest heard last week said that Tyrrell had fatal levels of morphine in his system, which pointed to the misuse of heroin.

Tyrrell had been experiencing anxiety and depression for a number of years. He would drink tea that contained crushed opium poppy seeds that he would purchase on -line. There was one point in time were Tyrrell sought help and stopped the habit, but then he lapsed.…

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