Addiction Medicine and Addiction Psychiatry Updates

Kleinman, R.A., Weiss, R.D. Benzodiazepine-Involved Overdose Deaths in the USA: 2000–2019.  J GEN INTERN MED  (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-021-07035-6 Conclusions:   Interventions to reduce benzodiazepine-involved overdose mortality should consider the demographics of, co-involved substances in, and presence of suicides among benzodiazepine-involved overdose deaths.

From the Center for Forensic Science Research & Education: In 2020 and 2021, the substituted cathinone   eutylone   was the most commonly encountered synthetic stimulant to appear in forensic casework, despite the drug being considered federally scheduled as an isomer of pentylone since March 2017 according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). In September 2021, eutylone was recommended for international control. It is this notice that likely created a shift in the NPS drug market, which would later be noted by declining eutylone positivity and increasing   N,N -dimethylpentylone   positivity.   N,N -Dimethylpentylone was first identified in toxicology samples in the U.S. in Q3 2021, marking the initial insurgence of this drug into the supply and the beginning of its proliferation. To date,   N,N -dimethylpentylone has been identified in 32 toxicology cases, including antemortem and postmortem investigations, in addition to drug material cases.   N,N -Dimethylpentylon

A deepening opioid epidemic is prompting the U.S. Department of Justice to warn about discrimination against those who are prescribed medication to treat their addictions. And related:   Justice Department Finds that Indiana State Nursing Board Discriminates Against People with Opioid Use Disorder

  https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2790949 The illicit drug supply has increasingly become contaminated with illicitly manufactured fentanyls and other synthetic opioid and benzodiazepine analogues. 1  Adolescent drug use rates remained generally stable between 2010 and 2020, with 30.2% and 30.4%, respectively, of 10th-graders reporting any illicit drug use in the past 12 months, which declined to 18.7% of 10th-graders in 2021. 2  However, given the increase in illicit fentanyls and potential associated risks, we assessed shifts in overdose deaths among adolescents. Drug overdose rates per 100 000 adolescents are shown by (A) substance involved and (B) race and ethnicity. The year 2021 refers to January to June 2021, and rates have been annualized. The vertical dashed lines delineate the prepandemic and pandemic periods of observed data.

The CFSRE is developing quarterly trend reports associated with NPS occurrence in the United States. These trend reports are intended to provide near real-time information regarding NPS prevalence, positivity, and turnover. Testing was performed using biological fluids, sample extracts, and/or datafiles. The CFSRE received funding from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to develop this initiative. For more information regarding our trend reports, please contact us at  npsdiscovery@cfsre.org . NPS Benzodiazepines NPS Opioids NPS Stimulants and Hallucinogens NPS Synthetic Cannabinoids

What is substance use disorder? How has it been treated in the past, and how is it treated now? Sarah Wakeman, M.D., General Internist, and Addiction Medicine Specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital, Medical Director for Substance Use Disorders at Mass General Brigham, and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School discuss substance use disorder, and how new treatment approaches, like harm reduction, can help with recovery.   https://youtu.be/KGps6-Tnbyw