In early November, Governor Tom Wolf signed legislation that legalized the use of fentanyl test strips in Pennsylvania. Before reaching Governor Wolf’s desk, the legislation passed the PA House and Senate unanimously. This change comes as fentanyl continues to escalate overdose rates in Pennsylvania and across the United States. Fentanyl, which is undetectable by sight, […]
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Adding to the Universal Addiction Medicine Toolbox
Dawn Lindsay, Ph.D, is the Director of Research and Evaluation at IRETA. Dawn and her team have been working with the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) and the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP) this past year to develop a clinical guideline addressing the management and treatment of stimulant use disorders. This project is […]
Making Sure Youth Substance Use Prevention Efforts are Effective
Most adults who meet the criteria for substance use disorder began their use in their teenage or young adult years. For this reason, early and effective substance use prevention for youth is extremely important. “Effective” is a key word when it comes to youth substance use prevention efforts. For years, Project Drug Abuse Resistance Education […]
Celebrating Recovery
September is Recovery Month! IRETA is proud to celebrate pathways to recovery with the Pittsburgh Recovery Walk.
Overdose Awareness Day: Honoring Those We Have Lost By Preventing Future Overdose Deaths
August 31 marks International Overdose Awareness Day. This is a day to remember those we have lost in the past year to overdose of opioids and other substances. As of November 2021, more than 100,000 people have lost their lives annually to substance overdose. In order to properly commemorate those lives we have lost, we […]
IRETA Continues to Provide Intensive Learning Experience on Substance Use Disorders for Medical and Pharmacy Students
For 23 years, IRETA has hosted medical students for the Scaife Medical Student Fellowship in Substance Use Disorders. The program has been held virtually since 2020, due to COVID-19. This year’s program continued online. For three weeks in both June and July, small cohorts of medical and pharmacy students logged in from across the country […]
Will the FDA’s Crackdown on Tobacco Products Help Improve Public Health?
Is a Juul ban enough to solve the problem of nicotine addiction in young adults? Time has shown us that bans often don’t keep people from using a product or substance.
How Can We Better Serve Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Individuals in Addiction Treatment Settings?
Despite that fact that transgender and gender non-conforming people disproportionately experience substance use and mental health disorders, there is a lack of trans-inclusive care and knowledge about gender identity within the addiction treatment field.
Alcoholics Anonymous Works. But It’s Important to Give People Options When It Comes to Recovery.
AA’s success rate has been historically difficult to measure, largely because the program is anonymous. But thanks to rigorous research we now know that Alcoholics Anonymous and clinically-related Twelve-Step Facilitation programs can be just as, or more effective than treatment modalities like CBT to maintain long-term sobriety for people with alcohol use disorder.
An Examination of America’s Deaths of Despair
Deaths of Despair are deaths caused by suicide, unintentional drug overdose, and alcohol use and intoxication. The term “deaths of despair” was coined in a 2015 paper by Ann Case and Ryan Deaton. The paper specifically addressed the rising morbidity and mortality of white, non-Hispanic Americans in midlife due to these types of deaths. But […]
