SAMHSA’s updated Overdose Prevention and Response Toolkit provides guidance to a wide range of individuals on preventing and responding to an overdose. The toolkit also emphasizes that harm reduction and access to treatment are essential aspects of overdose prevention.

The toolkit, designed to augment overdose prevention and reversal training, provides guidance on the role of opioid overdose reversal medications, including naloxone and nalmefene, and how to respond to an overdose. It also contains appendices for specific audiences, including people who use drugs (PWUD), people who take...

Conducted annually, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) provides nationally representative data on the use of tobacco, alcohol, and drugs; substance use disorders; mental health issues; and receipt of substance use and mental health treatment among the civilian, noninstitutionalized population aged 12 or older in the United States. NSDUH estimates allow researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and the general public to better understand and improve the nation’s behavioral health. These reports and detailed tables present national estimates from the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use...

Background

This study explores substance use (SU) and substance use disorders (SUDs) among Arabic-speaking refugees in Germany. The research investigates the challenges and experiences related to SU treatment from the perspectives of both refugees and professionals.

Methods

Qualitative interviews were conducted with 26 participants, including 13 refugees and 13 professionals, between 2020 and 2021 in Berlin. Refugees, aged 21 to 52, were individually interviewed in rehabilitation centers, with an average of 6.3 years in Germany. Professionals, aged 22 to 66 with 5 to 9 years of experience...

At the 10th International Conference on Health and Hepatitis in Substance Users, held in Glasgow, Scotland, international policymakers gathered to discuss the global overdose crisis and the role that supervised consumption sites can play in helping end these needless and preventable deaths.

The policy brief

A new policy brief is now available that summarises the day’s discussions and provides a starting point for those wanting to know more about supervised consumption rooms and their impact.

It includes:

• Evidence of success
• Global case studies
• Evaluation models 
• Implementation...