Addiction Medicine and Addiction Psychiatry Updates

  Nitazene analogs are synthetic opioids that are up to 40 times more potent than fentanyl  First identified in the United States in 2019  First identified in Philadelphia as early as October 2022  Individuals who experience an opioid overdose after using nitazene analogs will respond to naloxone (e.g., Narcan®).  What are nitazene analogs? Nitazene analogs are a novel class of synthetic opioids that can be up to 40 times more potent than fentanyl and up to 500 times more potent than morphine. Nitazene analogs vary in potency and include isotonitazene, metonitazene, and N-pyrrolidino etonitazene. The Drug Enforcement Administration has classified ten nitazene analogs as Schedule I drugs since there is no approved medical use for nitazene analogs in the United States, and initial pharmacologic evaluations do not support any medical or veterinary use.i,ii,iii However, novel nitazene analogs that are not explicitly scheduled in the United States, such as N-desethyl isotonitazene, continue

  Tianeptine is an antidepressant. But it’s being sold in the U.S., especially at gas stations, as a dietary supplement and functions like an opioid.   Vice, 12/12/2022

The increasing prevalence of MethHF with associated morbidity underscores the urgent need for well designed prospective studies of people who use methamphetamine to accurately assess the epidemiology, clinical features, disease trajectory and outcomes of MethHF. Methamphetamine abstinence is an integral part of MethHF treatment; increased availability of effective non-pharmacological interventions for treatment of methamphetamine addiction is an essential first step. Availability of effective pharmacological treatment for methamphetamine addiction will further support MethHF treatment. Using harm reduction principles in an integrated addiction/HF treatment programme will bolster efforts to stem the increasing tide of MethHF. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/heartjnl-2022-32161

An analysis of final 2021 DAWN data presents: (1) nationally representative weighted estimates, including percent and unadjusted rates per 100,000, for all drug-related emergency department (ED) visits, (2) nationally representative weighted estimates for the top five drugs in drug-related ED visits, (3) the assessment of monthly trends and drugs involved in polysubstance ED visits in a subset of sentinel hospitals, and (4) the identification of drugs new to DAWN’s Drug Reference Vocabulary. https://store.samhsa.gov/product/drug-abuse-warning-network-findings-drug-related-emergency-department-visits-2021/pep22-07-03-002  

The goal of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Non-Fatal Opioid Overdose Tracker is to track non-fatal opioid overdose in the pre-hospital setting using nationally submitted Emergency Medical Services (EMS) data. For more information regarding how to use this dashboard, please see the  companion document . CONTACT NEMSIS nemsis@hsc.utah.edu (801) 213-3930

President Joe Biden signed the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act into law. The new law, authored by U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), will expand research into marijuana-derived medications. The goal of the law is to facilitate research on marijuana and its potential health benefits. The Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act will accomplish this by streamlining the application process for scientific marijuana studies and removing existing barriers for researchers that frequently slow the research process. “The medical community agrees that we need more research to learn about marijuana’s potential health benefits,”  said Senator Schatz.  “Our new law will remove excessive barriers that make it difficult for researchers to study the effectiveness and safety of marijuana, and hopefully, give patients more treatment options.” In addition to Schatz, Feinstein, and Grassley, the Senate

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