Scientists Find Possible New Way to Reverse Fentanyl Overdoses

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  • Reading time:4 mins read

Fentanyl overdoses are at an all-time high, and often, there is trouble reviving a person who has overdosed on higher doses of the drug. After all, fentanyl is one of the most potent drugs known to man.

Fentanyl is a highly potent opioid, estimated to be 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine and about 50 times more potent than heroin. This potency means that a small amount of fentanyl can produce intense and immediate euphoria, making it highly attractive to those seeking a powerful high.

For some people, that high means an overdose. And if a user takes higher doses of the drug, multiple cans of Narcan, the overdose-reversal drug, may not even be enough.

Fentanyl kills over 100,000 Americans yearly, and people often don’t even realize they have taken the drug.

Fentanyl is Highly Addictive

Fentanyl acts …

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Narcan Goes OTC Nationwide Next Week

Narcan, also known by its generic name naloxone, is a medication used to reverse the effects of opioid overdose rapidly. This is a crucial tool in addressing the opioid crisis and has proven to be a lifesaving intervention in many cases. After much advocacy, the federal government is allowing naloxone to be sold over-the-counter, without a prescription, starting next week.

The Importance of Narcan

Narcan has been a vital tool in saving lives since the 1970s. Now, it can be carried and used by anyone who comes across an overdose situation, making it more likely they get care and medical help.

  • Rapid Overdose Rescue: Narcan binds to the same receptors in the brain that opioids attach to. By doing this, it effectively displaces opioids and reverses their effects. This can quickly restore normal breathing and consciousness in someone experiencing
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Critics Say California Resistant to Strengthened Overdose Reversal Drugs

Fentanyl, a drug that is up to 100 times stronger than morphine, has become a common adulterant in street drugs. Officials say this is the reason so many fentanyl encounters result in death; most people don’t mean to take it. When an opioid-naïve user ends up ingesting fentanyl, sometimes the drugs are so potent that normal-strength Naloxone, an opioid reversal drug, has little effect. EMTs have anecdotes of using multiple cans of fentanyl to attempt to bring fentanyl overdoses back to life. However, stronger and more effective opioid-reversal drugs are available.

Fentanyl Overdoses Are Becoming More Common

Fentanyl is now found in cocaine, heroin, speed, and counterfeit pills such as Xanax or Oxycontin. And they’re easier to get than ever. Law enforcement finds drug dealers on Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Signal. When one forum becomes risky to use for …

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Doctors Seeing Increased Overdose Deaths

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The pandemic death toll is both startling and sad, but other crises, including the addiction epidemic alongside the pandemic. Doctors say that overdose deaths from the opioid epidemic are higher than they have been in years, leaving families heartbroken. The damage has largely been uncounted by the media due to the unrest and pandemic, but it’s a true problem that is bubbling beneath the surface.

Places Hit Hard By Overdose Deaths

Overdoses have increased across the board in regions already hard-hit by the addiction epidemic. In Louisiana, “Just to give you some numbers, we had 233 total overdoses in 2020 compared to 154 in 2019,” said the Jefferson Parish Coroner  Dr. Gerry Cvitanovich. ”We have seen an increase in methamphetamine as well. Still, the biggest increase is in fentanyl, literally if you are just going from year to year, in …

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FDA Adds Naloxone Info to Opioid Scripts

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The Food and Drug Administration announced a new requirement for drugmakers to help inform consumers about naloxone. Naloxone is a drug that helps reverse opioid and other drug overdoses. The new rule means that every prescription drug containing opioids will now include information about naloxone.

The naloxone notice is just one small thing that they’re hoping will help people stay alive during the pandemic. People who are abusing opioids may not be aware that it’s an option. Many people are isolated from other drug users and staying home during the pandemic.

Overdoses Are Increasing During Pandemic

Drug overdoses are multiplying quickly during the age of COVID-19, and numbers of deaths were higher than ever in 2019 before the pandemic even touched American lives.

Public health officials have warned the public and doctors to expect significant increases in “deaths of

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How/Why Are Children Overdosing on Opioids?

Children are overdosing on opioids, but it’s not something that’s being mentioned often. The media often mentions the opioid epidemic regarding addiction that lands people on the streets. The current addiction epidemic is taking place in communities that house lower to middle-class residents. Few news reports tell us about the people who love the addicted that live under the roof each home. Often there are spouses, babies, children, and pets in families affected by opioid addiction.

In 3 and four bedroom homes in counties across America, children are becoming victims of the opioid epidemic in depressing ways. Almost 900 children have died from opiate overdoses since 1999, according to a new study conducted by Julie Gaither, an instructor at the Yale School of Medicine.

Causes of Overdoses

Using numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and other data sources, they …

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In 48 States, Walgreens Sells Narcan Over the Counter

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  • Post category:opiateopioid
  • Reading time:3 mins read

Walgreens will soon sell lifesaving antidote, over-the-counter Narcan, that counteracts the deadly effects of opioid overdoses including heroin, they announced last week.

Narcan over the counter will allow both family members and drug users to have the antidote safely nearby in case of an overdose.

Opioid-related overdoses currently kill more than 140 Americans every day, and they have only been getting deadlier as powerful drugs such as fentanyl and carfentanil (an elephant tranquilizer), deadly to even some of the most experienced drug users, have hit the streets in the US. Narcan, which comes both as an injection and a nasal spray, can “pull back” drug users from the brink of death. Only the nose spray, however, has been made available for over-the-counter Narcan purchases.

While many states have their own laws regarding naloxone, Walgreens has taken months to hammer …

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California Lawmaker Seeks More Oversight of Prescription Drug Deaths

A California state Senator has been working diligently to introduce a bill requiring coroners to report prescription drug deaths to the Medical Board of California. Senator Curren D. Price Jr., who is also Chairman of the Medical Board of California, hopes the new bill will help to identify medical professionals whose prescribing methods may contribute to prescription drug addiction and overdose.

The proposed legislation is a response to  an LA Times investigation into coroner reports. The investigation revealed that numerous deaths caused by the overuse of prescription pain medication can be linked to a handful of physicians. The Times examined 3,733 prescription drug related deaths that took place between 2006 and 2011 in the counties of Orange, San Diego, Los Angeles and Ventura. It was revealed that 1,762 cases resulted from overdosing on medications that had been prescribed by doctors. …

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Early Marijuana Use Linked to Prescription Drug Abuse

For decades, drug authorities have described marijuana as a gateway drug that can lead to abuse of more serious drugs. Although the theory has often been ridiculed, a new study conducted by researchers at Yale School of Medicine is lending credence to marijuana’s role in prescription drug abuse.

The study, which has been published online in the Journal of Adolescent Health, found that teenagers who drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes or marijuana are two to three times more likely to abuse prescription drugs as young adults, with the most-abused drugs being opioid painkillers like OxyContin, Vicodin and Percocet.

According to Dr. Lynn Fiellin, Yale associate professor and lead author of the study, previous studies have focused on the link between marijuana and illicit drugs like cocaine and heroin. This is one of the first studies to examine the connection between …

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How the Internet Fuels Prescription Drug Abuse

In the past decade, anyone with an e-mail account has most likely received spam e-mail that advertises the sale of prescription drugs.  Millions of these e-mails are sent out each year from pharmacies that are typically located outside of the United States.  These rogue pharmacies are not under the jurisdiction of U.S. laws and freely dispense potentially dangerous drugs like Percocet and Oxycontin that normally require a doctor’s prescription.

A recently completed 7-year study conducted by the University of Southern California and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has revealed a correlation between Internet access and prescription drug abuse.  States with the highest growth in high speed internet access also saw the greatest increase in treatment admissions for prescription drug abuse.

According to Dana Goldman, a public health expert at the University of Southern California, the findings suggest that widespread use of …

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