Fix Mental Health And Addiction Crises Together, White House Drug Czar Says
White House Office of National Drug Control Policy director Rahul Gupta told House members during an oversight hearing Thursday that “mental illness and drug addiction go hand in glove," and that the two health challenges should be tackled together. Lawmakers are also working on a bill to increase access to fentanyl test strips.
Stat:
Mental Illness, Drug Addiction Must Be Tackled Together, Top U.S. Official Says
At a House oversight hearing Thursday, the Biden administration’s top drug policy official emphasized the need to address both mental illness and drug addiction simultaneously to reduce fentanyl deaths. According to a 2021 survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, over nine million adults in the U.S. have this co-occuring disorder. (Bajaj, 7/27)
NBC News:
A New Bipartisan Bill Aims To Increase Access To Fentanyl Test Strips Amid Overdose Deaths
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is working to address the staggering number of opioid overdoses nationwide, as two-thirds of drug overdose deaths last year were caused by synthetic opioids like fentanyl, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Tsirkin, 7/27)
The Texas Tribune:
Texans In Congress Lead Bipartisan Efforts To Allow Fentanyl Test Strips
Texans in Congress are pushing bipartisan legislation to increase access to fentanyl testing strips after a similar effort fizzled in the Texas Legislature earlier this year. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, led several senators from both parties in introducing the Fentanyl Safe Testing and Overdose Prevention Act on Thursday to clarify, in federal law, that fentanyl testing strips are not considered to be drug paraphernalia. (Choi, 7/27)
In related news from Wyoming, Indiana, and elsewhere—
Wyoming Public Radio:
An FDA Decision Will Bring Over-The-Counter Narcan To Wyoming This Month
In April, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a decision to allow the sale of over-the-counter Narcan at pharmacies across the country. That decision will take effect later this month. The move comes as federal and state governments battle opioid overdose, an epidemic that took over 100,000 lives in 2021, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. (Uplinger, 7/26)
AP:
Indiana Revokes Licenses For 3 Landmark Recovery Addiction Treatment Centers After 3 Deaths
The state has revoked the licenses of a troubled northern Indiana addiction treatment center and two sister facilities, its parent company acknowledged Thursday. The Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction revoked the license for Praxis Landmark Recovery in Mishawaka and sister facilities in Bluffton and Carmel, the company said. (7/27)
The Economist:
Fentanyl Is Spreading The Opioid Crisis Into America’s Big Cities
When opioids first started killing Americans in very large numbers, it was disproportionately white people, often in rural areas, who were the victims. Cities and ethnic minorities generally suffered lightly. Yet a far worse wave of death is under way now, caused almost entirely by fentanyl, an incredibly powerful synthetic opioid that can be used legally as a painkiller, but is mostly produced by Mexican cartels and smuggled into America. (7/27)
