2022

When Agatha Christie’s famous Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, attributed his investigative success to “the little grey cells”—components of the brain’s grey matter—he may well have been correct. He usually was. Today, neuroscientists delving into the comparatively neglected “other half of the brain” are defining the highly important roles of white matter. They’ve found … [Read more...] about Study: Long-term Abstinence Restores Impaired Brain Function and Structure in Patients With Heroin Use Disorder, but Questions Remain

The federal Department of Justice has ordered repeatedly that people in treatment or recovery on medications to treat opioid use disorder are protected by the Americans with Disability Act (ADA). This spring, the federal government issued guidance specifying this, and noting that entities covered by the ADA include the workplace, healthcare organizations, and the criminal … [Read more...] about DOJ Issues Guidance Underscoring ADA Protections for People Taking Methadone or Buprenorphine

A recent article based on the two-day methadone workshop by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine distills several of the messages of that workshop: extending take-home flexibilities and allowing physician prescribing are two of the top ones (for more on that workshop, see https://atforum.com/2022/03/nasem-methadone-expand-access-primary-care/). The … [Read more...] about Expanding Access to Methadone Treatment

In a policy document on “Methadone Reform” updated this spring by the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD), the organization has clearly noted that dosing in the clinic is associated with improved treatment retention, and that pharmacy distribution has been linked to diversion and to concomitant getting rid of methadone as a treatment … [Read more...] about AATOD: No Pharmacy Dispensing of Methadone, Except for Stable Patients Currently in OTPs

In the era of illicit fentanyl, multiple doses of naloxone are sometimes needed to reverse opioid overdoses, a recent literature review published in Substance Abuse has confirmed. Reports of the need for multiple doses of the 2-mg version have long been noticed by first responders, and the article confirms those reports. However, giving someone one dose of naloxone and … [Read more...] about Why 8 Milligrams of Naloxone Should be Given in all Opioid ODS, STAT: Fentanyl