‘Dope Refugees’ Flock To New York City’s Transit Hubs In Search Of A Better Life
Experts say the swelling number of users around the transit hubs is in part because they can find more tolerance and support in New York City than in their hometowns, as well as greater access to services such as syringe exchanges. Meanwhile, the country's foster system is being strained beneath the weight of the drug epidemic. Other news on the opioid crisis comes out of Maryland and California.
The New York Times:
‘Dope Refugees’: How The Opioid Crisis Arrived At New York’s Commuter Hubs
A couple from Ohio pushed a shopping cart filled with their tattered belongings toward West 34th Street as tourists crowded beside them. An older man from Massachusetts nodded off outside Pennsylvania Station, which 600,000 people pass through daily. Nearby, a woman from North Carolina crouched next to a cardboard sign. New York’s transit hubs welcome millions of tourists and commuters every year. But in recent years, the hubs have also increasingly become a destination for people with opioid and other drug addictions, many of whom arrive from parts of the country that have seen soaring rates of drug use and fatal overdoses. (Correal, 7/16)
NPR:
More Kids Are Entering Foster Care Because Of Parental Drug Use
The number of cases of children entering the foster care system due to parental drug use has more than doubled since 2000, according to research published this week in JAMA Pediatrics. Researchers analyzed data from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), a federally mandated data collection system that includes information on children in foster care in the United States. (Neilson, 7/15)
The Washington Post:
Amid Opioid Crisis, Audit Raises Questions About Whether Maryland Was Properly Delivering Substance Abuse Services
A Maryland state agency failed to adequately monitor groups to which it provided funding to treat opioid and gambling addictions and care for severely disabled children, according to a state audit released last week, raising questions about whether clients received proper treatment and how millions of taxpayer dollars were spent. The Behavioral Health Administration could not prove that it reviewed reports submitted by groups it paid to provide treatment for substance abuse disorder, the audit said. (Chason, 7/15)
KQED:
For Many, Overcoming Opioid Addiction Means Medication For Life
While the opioid crisis has not hit California as hard as some of the Eastern states, roughly 2,000 Californians die each year of an opioid overdose. In a bid to combat this, California's Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) has invested $265 million since 2017 to increase access to medication-assisted treatment throughout the state. Tomás' story offers a window into what America's opioid crisis may look like in the future: people on medication to treat their addiction for years, or even for the rest of their lives. (Klivans, 7/15)
The Associated Press:
Police: 2 Dead, Officer Hurt At Baltimore Methadone Clinic
A man demanding methadone opened fire at a Baltimore addiction clinic Monday, killing one person and wounding a police sergeant before he was fatally shot by police, authorities said. Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said at a news conference that the gunman had gone into the clinic seeking the drug that helps control opioid cravings and withdrawal symptoms. It can be given only at government-regulated clinics. (7/15)
