FDA approves first buprenorphine implant for opioid dependence The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first buprenorphine implant for the maintenance treatment of opioid dependence in adults, a treatment that is being hailed as “a game changer”.…
Making the case for drug consumption rooms For the past 15 years, drug users living in Sydney, Australia, have had access to a safe place to inject their drugs, supervised by trained medical staff. Is it time for other cities to follow suit?…
Naltrexone cuts relapse rate and overdose among opioid-dependent offenders After leaving prison, patients who receive naltrexone are less likely to relapse and overdose than those who receive standard treatment, study finds.…
Hydromorphone could prevent opioid addicts from using street heroin Analgesic dihydromorphone is as effective as diacetylmorphine (medical grade heroin) in preventing opioid addicts from using heroin bought on the street, reveals a new study.…
The prescription opioid addiction and abuse epidemic: how it happened and what we can do about it Opioid painkillers are supposed to provide pain relief, but there is now a plethora of injuries and deaths because they have been heavily marketed and inappropriately prescribed.…
Illicit drug overdose: managing emergency care With up to 253,000 deaths related to drug misuse globally, understanding how to identify and treat drug overdoses can save lives.…
Community pharmacists could screen at-risk groups for liver disease According to The Lancet’s commission, community pharmacists could play a key role in helping to improve liver disease services in primary care, say hepatology specialists.…
UK drug advisory council warns against limiting duration of methadone therapy Government drug advisers have rejected a proposal by government ministers to impose a time limit on prescribing methadone to heroin addicts.…
Reduce crime. Dispense methadone Catriona Matheson, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Aberdeen took her audience on a whistle stop tour of her work on the advancement of pharmacy drug misuse services through the ages to assist the 1% of the UK illicit drug user population.…
