In a report, the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) is calling on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to review the safety and effectiveness of opioid painkillers. The panel of experts says monumental changes are needed to the way in which physicians treat pain, their patients cope with pain, and government and private insurers support individuals’ treatment for chronic pain. [1]
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy released the nations first-ever “Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health” on November 16 that includes both alarming statistics and a plan to fix the nation’s opioid crisis. [1]
Dr. Vivek Murthy as Surgeon General. Source: Salon.com
The town of Gloucester, Massachusetts, has decided to stop putting all heroin and opioid addicts behind bars. Instead, the individuals are given a chance to get clean.
Under a policy launched in June, heroin and opioid addicts who voluntarily turn themselves into the police are fast-tracked into treatment services, with the help of police officers, volunteers, and trained clinicians. The sick aren’t charged with a crime, while public and private insurances and grants by service providers and police cover the cost of the detox. [1]
“Symbols related to Christianity were removed. Even from inside houses. If you had a picture of the Virgin Mary, they removed it.”
