Throughout the past year, a substance called xylazine has been saturating the drug supply in many parts of the United States. Xylazine is a powerful sedative used in veterinary medicine, typically for larger animals like horses and cattle. It is not considered to be safe for humans. However, the drug has been found to be […]
Evidence-Based and Best Practices
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 […]
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.
The Role of Alcohol in the Overdose Crisis
Much of the recent discourse in the addiction treatment and recovery community has touched upon the record-breaking rise in overdose deaths in the United States, as well as the sharp uptick in alcohol use that came about at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. But very rarely is alcohol discussed as being a part of […]
The Importance of Speaking the Same Language in Addiction Treatment
There is a recognizable need for improved treatment for substance use disorder in the United States. Drug overdose deaths are at an all-time high and standardization of the delivery and coverage for addiction treatment can be hard to find. Unfortunately, as it stands, addiction treatment and reimbursement practices can vary greatly from state to state, […]
Opportunity Out of Crisis: A Natural Experiment
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented challenges and opportunities for substance disorder treatment. IRETA and Vital Strategies are studying effects of OTP rule changes.
Skyrocketing Methamphetamine Overdose Deaths Show Our “Crisis Response” Must Expand Beyond Just Opioids
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) released a study that shows a combination of two medications, injectable naltrexone and oral bupropion, is safe and effective in treating methamphetamine use disorder.
Compassion Fatigue: A Personal Account from an IRETA Clinical Quality Improvement Associate
I don’t believe that we can truly understand what those teachers lecturing about clinician burnout means until we’re “in the trenches” of this field. Let’s talk about compassion fatigue.
