WASHINGTON – Congress is finally close to passing a comprehensive bill to combat opioid abuse, combining law enforcement and public health measures, including making addiction services more accessible. The massive bill, which includes provisions introduced by dozens of lawmakers, including Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, is considered a rare bipartisan accomplishment.
Narcan
Posted inHealth, Justice
Amid opioid crisis, substance abuse treatment programs cut
On any given day, there are 400 people on the waiting list for the substance abuse treatment and detox programs paid for by the state Judicial Branch. The wait is about to get much longer – and not because of the spike in overdoses throughout the state, but because those programs are being slashed to help close the state’s budget deficit.
Posted inHealth
16 overdoses, two dead in six hours in New Haven
A toxic batch of heroin laced with fentanyl appears to have hit New Haven, with firefighters and cops rushing to rescue 16 different people who overdosed on drugs — at least two of them fatally — between 3:30 and 9:30 p.m. Thursday.
Posted inNews
U.S. House OKs 18 bills, but little money, to fight opioid addiction
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives finished work Friday on a package of 18 bills aimed at fighting opioid addiction – but denied President Obama his request for $1.1 billion to confront the growing crisis.
Posted inHealth
Senate approves bill to fight opioid abuse that would offer CT help — within limits
WASHINGTON – Senate approval of a bill to fight the nation’s opioid epidemic is still likely to leave states like Connecticut on the front lines of the crisis – and to leave them short of all the help they need to prevent the destroyed lives that result from the abuse of pain killers and heroin.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Governors ask for money, share strategies to combat opioid crisis
WASHINGTON — The nation’s governors have pressed the federal government for money to help them combat the opioid abuse and heroin addiction that has resulted in a spike of overdoses and strained state public health systems. They also shared with the Obama administration and each other policies they’ve implemented to confront the crisis.
Posted inPolitics
Congress takes aim at epidemic of opioid abuse
WASHINGTON — After states have spent years grappling with the problem, Congress may finally address the epidemic of heroin use and abuse of prescription pain killers which has affected Connecticut and the rest of New England more than much of the country.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Connecticut can do more to address substance use disorder
Gov. Dannel Malloy has done a lot to prevent fatal overdoses, but more can be done. He has recently proposed a bill that will make Narcan more widely available by allowing pharmacists to prescribe it to Connecticut families, first responders and the treatment community directly from pharmacies. It should be adopted.
Posted inNews
Op-Ed: Connecticut can do more to address substance use disorder
Gov. Dannel Malloy has done a lot to prevent fatal overdoses, but more can be done. He has recently proposed a bill that will make Narcan more widely available by allowing pharmacists to prescribe it to Connecticut families, first responders and the treatment community directly from pharmacies. It should be adopted.
Posted inHealth, Politics
CT lawmakers join war on heroin, painkillers
Washington – Washington has turned its attention to the epidemic of heroin addiction and overdose deaths – including more than 250 in Connecticut last year, but there’s a limit to what the federal government and Congress can do, especially in times of tight budget constraints.