This guide provides information about stimulants in the context of the overdose crisis in the US, including what constitutes a stimulant overdose, appropriate responses to stimulant overdoses, how to prevent them, and how to treat addiction to stimulants and co-addiction to opioids. It also…

This paper investigates the challenges of addressing opioid use disorder in rural areas and gives five suggestions on how rural states and communities can use evidence based approaches to offer better solutions to individuals seeking treatment for opioid use disorder. These suggestions outline…

This is an academic paper which discusses a new model for integrating primary care into opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment. The clinical champions model emphasizes the role of primary care physicians and how through their prescription of OUD medication, outcomes for individuals with OUD can…

This is a report from the Vera Institute of Justice that serves as a resource for jurisdictions seeking to rethink how they respond to drug use. It describes a range of approaches that exist at the intersection of health and criminal justice, highlights several innovative programs, and provides …

This is a report from the California Health Care Foundation that explores the four components that California health plans have used to decrease opioid prescribing: engaging providers, working with high-risk members, addressing misuse, and supporting healthy communities.

Several specific…

This report was generated through a legislative mandate by linking multiple data sets in Massachusetts. The aim was to better understand the opioid problem and those at most risk.

The prevalence of opioid use disorder, as well as nonfatal and fatal overdoses, are estimated and at-risk…

This is a report from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network that explores the relationship between childhood exposure to traumatic events and a variety of substance use-related behaviors as well as the impact of the opioid crisis on children and families. Recommendations related to…

This study examined the relationship between illicit drug use and 10 categories of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and total number of ACEs (ACE score). The ACE score had a strong graded relationship to the risk of drug initiation from early adolescence into adulthood and to problems with…

This is a report from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) that describes the housing models available for individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) who experience housing instability or homelessness. Several implemented models are highlighted within this…

This is an academic paper which evaluates the clinical impact and cost effectiveness of current hospital-based strategies that address the U.S opioid epidemic. The findings concluded that, by increasing prescriptions for medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) and implementing addiction…

This is an academic paper that interviewed providers to better understand the role that hospitals have played in the opioid crisis. In addition to reported settings where opioids have been overprescribed, the clinicians recommended that hospitals respond to the opioid crisis through patient…

This is a report from the Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts that highlights several programs that strengthen the continuum of care for pregnant and parenting women so they have uninterrupted access to opioid use disorder treatment as well as the support they need to sustain their recovery…

A perspective academic article by Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), about the intersection of the coronavirus pandemic and the opioid crisis. 

This is a report from several collaborating organizations in Colorado that puts forth the strategic plan for the state to increase capacity for recovery through three objectives: 1) Create a recovery-oriented system of care 2) Provide recovery-oriented clinical care 3) Equip communities with…

This report details recommendations for the US government on how to optimize mandatory and discretionary spending on opioid related population health outcomes. The author's recommendations fall under the four categories of mandatory spending, discretionary spending, data and metrics, and…

This report outlines the impact of synthetic opioid trafficking from the individual and economic perspective. The authors provide several suggestions on next steps the U.S government can take as well as relevant data to support these points. The five main pillars of this outline are policy…

This report from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) presents the study results of interviews and focus groups to explore how the opioid crisis is uniquely affecting diverse Appalachian communities, and to identify effective content and messaging strategies that Appalachian community-based…

This academic paper examines how community coalition members perceive hospital collaborations and explores the opportunities and challenges of these partnerships. Barriers are identified and promising approaches are highlighted in relation to community coalition-hospital partnerships. 

This academic paper conducted a review of economic evaluations of community distribution of naloxone, specifically assessing quality and applicability to diverse contexts and settings. Community distribution of naloxone is a core component of harm reduction strategies. The authors concluded that…

This is an academic paper that gives an overview of the HEALing Communities Study to address the opioid crisis, with a focus on how this multistate, community-engaged research project used community coalitions to tailor evidence-based practices to meet the unique needs of the communities…