Controversial Proposal to Allow Heroin In Ithaca, New York

CNN has posted a story about the mayor of Ithaca, New York proposing that the city host a program which would allow addicts to legally inject heroin at a designated safe place. The approach is a harm reduction strategy that has been reportedly tried in Europe, Australia, and Canada. Ithaca’s mayor, Svante Myrick, is quoted
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Heroin Help Cards in High Point

The High Point Police Department has been a steadfast supporter of addiction treatment and in assisting people with addiction problems find the help that they need. Their most recent effort is the use of Heroin Help Cards. WFMY News2 aired a segment highlighting this new initiative in which High Point Police Officers will hand out
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CNN Special Show On Prescription Addiction

CNN aired an informative special program on 5/11/2016, Prescription Addiction: Doctors Must Lead Us Out. The one hour special was hosted by Anderson Cooper and neurosurgeon Dr. Sanjay Gupta. It specifically addressed how the current opioid epidemic in America has been driven by the over prescribing of opioid medication. Various doctors, recovering addicts, and others
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W-18 Reported To Be Dangerous Street Drug

The CBS-affiliate station out of Connecticut, WTVR, reported this week that a new street drug is being sold in the United States and Canada. It is called W-18 and is a synthetic opioid first developed in a Canadian lab in 1981. Emergency medical personnel have stated that a small amount of the drug is powerful
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Lethal Overdose Map of the United States

Using CDC statistics from 2002 – 2014, TIME has produced a coded map of fatal overdoses in the United States. In the graphic below, red areas are geographical locations with the highest concentration of fatal overdoses per capita. The study has a disclaimer however which states that small counties are not represented as accurately on
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New England Journal of Medicine on Opioid Abuse

A February 4 article in The New England Journal of Medicine addresses the epidemic of opioid abuse that has become the #1 leading cause of injury-related death in the United States now even surpassing vehicle accidents. The Journal reports that approximately 100 million U.S. citizens suffer pain in the course of a year and that
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Thinking About The Meaning of Recovery

The word Recovery is a powerful symbol of hope for people who deal with addiction. Before alcohol and drug addiction were so readily addressed in society, the medical community used recovery as a reference to that period of time when a person was recuperating from a surgery or extended illness. So-and-so has had a full
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Methamphetamines and Methadone Are Not The Same

Monday, November 30th is the official start date of “National Meth Awareness Week” which is an initiative to educate the public on the dangers of methamphetamine abuse. This is a coordinated prevention program by the Partnership For Drug-Free Kids. It is important to note that some people occasionally confuse “Meth” (a slang abbreviation for methamphetamine)
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CNN Article on Heroin-related Overdoses

A new article from CNN cites an announcement by the Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) confirming that heroin use is increasing rapidly across the United States. The staggering result of this is that: “Deaths from heroin-related overdoses nearly quadrupled between 2002 and 2013.” The CDC report indicated that heroin use doubled among women
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Town Hall Meeting On Addiction And Recovery

A new Town Hall Meeting will occur in High Point at the High Point Arts Council on Tuesday evening July 14th. Fact: Two out of three families are somehow touched by addiction! The Town Hall Meeting will address addiction in our community and how family members can do something about this illness to hopefully prevent
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