Overdose

Tribal communities throughout the United States are often acknowledged as having higher rates of negative health outcomes, including higher rates of overdose and substance use, with little context given to the contributing historical and contemporary factors.

Overdose Detection Mapping and Application Program (ODMAP) is a free, web-based, overdose reporting platform. It is for local, state, federal, and tribal public safety and public health entities working in overdose response, reduction, and prevention.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that the makers of Narcan, an opioid overdose treatment, have the agency’s approval to make the drug widely available over the counter (OTC).  Narcan is the brand name of the drug naloxone, a fast-acting overdose reversal. Until now, availability varied by state – typically restricted to licensed health care providers, approved opioid overdose programs, and first responders. This is an important consideration for rural counties given that research shows that these areas are nearly three times more likely than metropolitan counties to be a low-dispensing county for naloxone.

In November 2022, the FDA issued a letter providing information on the severe ulcerations that can occur from repeated xylazine exposure, withdrawal symptoms, and the interference xylazine can cause on successful treatment. The FDA continues to investigate the source of xylazine in the illicit drug supply. Health care professionals are strongly encouraged to report events in humans associated with xylazine exposure. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funded an evaluation study of post-overdose outreach programs in Massachusetts known as the PRONTO Study. This study group assessed the evidence on post-overdose outreach.

The National Council for Mental Wellbeing announced a toolkit, Public Safety-led Community-oriented Overdose Prevention Efforts (PS-COPE), which provides framework to use to enhance overdose prevention and response in the Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) communities. The toolkit provides tips, tools, and resources to help integrate this approach into existing overdose prevention and response efforts.

This study looks at how common the presence of alcohol is in opioid overdose deaths. While there are "waves" of the opioid crisis, the authors studied how alcohol affect individuals in this fourth wave as it is characterized by opioid-stimulant polysubstance use.

The CDC report released in September 2022 highlights that more than 80% of pregnancy-related deaths were preventable. Among key findings, the report finds that one of the leading underlying causes of pregnancy-related death includes mental health conditions related to substance use disorder.

The data visualization in the National Vital Statistics System, received and processed by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), shows the 12 month provisional number and percent change of drug overdose deaths. The analysis dashboard also shows the provisional number of drug overdose deaths by drug or drug class.