Overdose Response Strategy
Monthly News and Updates


March 2021
WELCOME NEW ORS TEAM MEMBERS!
Erin Porter, Oregon PHA
Erin Porter (she/her) is the new Public Health Analyst in Oregon with the Oregon/Idaho HIDTA. Erin has spent the last 20 years working in Harm Reduction in Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Boston and Portland, OR. Her most recent position was in Portland with the Multnomah County Health Department's Harm Reduction program as their field-based Program Coordinator. In this positon, Erin was able to work directly with clients as part of the Syringe Service Program and work with those most affected by SUD and at the highest risk of overdose. In this role Erin co-facilitated training in naloxone administration and distribution programs across the state of Oregon. Additionally, she was able to nurture a relationship with the local police department's drug and vice unit to share information about possible overdose increases in the area. Erin received her undergraduate degree from UC Santa Cruz and her Master's in Public Health from Tufts University. In her spare time, she attends far too may live concerts, especially Dave Matthews Band. She is an avid lover of all cheese, except medium cheddar (life is too short to eat bland cheese).
Mark Anthony Karandang,
Northern CA DIO
SFC Mark Anthony Karandang just recently retired from the National Guard’s Counterdrug Task Force, a career 21 years in the making. Training and experience include narcotics investigations, employment of intelligence and analytics, and strategic prevention. His last duty assignment was with the Northern CA HIDTA as the drug demand reduction coordinator. In this capacity, Mark has found that a coordinated, multi-disciplined response around actionable intelligence, spearheaded by our law enforcement, public health, and harm reduction partners will improve the community health outcomes. Understanding fully well how his career has come full circle; from dismantling the supply of illicit drugs, to reducing the demand of it, he knows more is yet to be done.
Mark was just selected to become the Drug Intelligence officer for the Northern CA HIDTA and will continue with his efforts in advocating for and supporting drug prevention activities, and collaboration and cooperation amongst the various public health and safety disciplines within the Northern CA HIDTA area of responsibility. 
Introducing the 2021 ORS PHA-DIO Advisory Panel
Congratulations to the newly selected members of the PHA-DIO Advisory Panel. Panel members go above and beyond their job duties to represent the interest of the broader ORS PHA-DIO network.
DIO Members
Mark Gosling - Washington
Bill Newell - Utah
Van Godsey - Missouri
Tiffany Hicks - Oregon
PHA Members
Sydney Fox - Arizona
Paige Andrews - Wisconsin
Ellen Lycan - Kentucky
Tamar Wallace - Pennsylvania
UPCOMING ORS WEBINARS
Introduction to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) & the Justice Community Opioid Innovations Network (JCOIN)
APRIL 9TH, 1:00PM - 2:30PM
Please join us for a presentation led by Dr. Tisha Wiley and Dr. Lori Ducharme from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) for an introduction to NIDA and the work they’re doing through the Justice Community Opioid Intervention Network (JCOIN), which supports several studies that seek to enhance the quality of care for opioid misuse and opioid use disorder (OUD) in justice populations.

Many of the more than 10 million people who pass through the U.S. justice system each year either have an active substance use disorder (SUD) or a history of SUD. One of the points at which people are most vulnerable to an opioid overdose is in the first two weeks after returning to their community after a jail or prison stay. This is why it is so important to understand the most evidence-based resources and support needed for people in these unique populations to maintain their treatment.

JCOIN includes:
  • A national survey of addiction treatment delivery services within the justice system
  • Studies on the effectiveness and adoption of new medications, prevention and treatment interventions, and technologies
  • Using existing data sources in novel ways to understand care in justice populations

Together, these studies generate real-world evidence to address the unique needs of individuals with OUD in justice settings.
Utah's Law Enforcement Pre-Booking Diversion Program
APRIL 30TH, 1:00PM - 2:30PM
We are excited to invite you to learn more about the highly successful pre-booking diversion program from Davis County, Utah, that has become a model for other communities across Utah and the United States.
For the past several months, our ORS teams and partners from across the country have been asking to learn more about Utah's top-rated pre-booking diversion program that started in Davis County but demonstrated incredible preliminary evaluation results leading to state-supported expansion. Please join us for a presentation led by program champions, Chief Tom Ross, newly appointed Executive Director of the Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice and former Chief of Police for Bountiful City, and Nichole Cunha, Early Intervention & Crisis Program Administrator for the Utah Department of Human Services - Substance Abuse & Mental Health.

Please feel free to share this invitation with partners or others who may be interested.
EXTERNAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
Adopting Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in the Criminal Justice System
APRIL 13TH, 12:00PM - 1:00PM
This event, from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Center for Mental Health and Addiction Policy, will focus on qualitative research that center faculty have conducted on medication treatment for opioid use disorders in jails, prisons, and community corrections. It will leave participants with findings to guide policy and practice.

Speakers will include:
  • Brendan Saloner, Bloomberg Associate Professor of American Health
  • Colleen Barry, Chair of the Department of Health Policy
  • Alene Kennedy-Hendricks, Assistant Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management
  • Sachini Bandara, Assistant Professor, Department of Mental Health
  • Noa Krawczyk, Assistant Professor, Center for Opioid Epidemiology and Policy, NYU Grossman School of Medicine
  • Tyler Winkelman, Co-Director of Health, Homelessness, and Criminal Justice Lab, Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute and Staff Physician, Hennepin County Jail
  • Alexandra Duncan, Senior Officer, Substance Use Prevention and Treatment Initiative, The Pew Charitable Trusts
Medication-Assisted Treatment in Drug Courts Learning Community
SAMHSA’s GAINS Center is hosting a series of webinars and discussion groups focusing on the role of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in drug courts. Hear experts speak about a variety of topics, including how to overcome resistance among court staff, supporting recovery in the community, and practical resources for facilitating MAT provision in the drug court context. Open-format discussion groups will allow webinar participants to take a deeper dive into the material and pose questions to the speakers.

PART 1: ADDRESSING CONCERNS OF COURT STAFF ABOUT MAT
APRIL 20TH, 1:00PM - 2:00PM
Despite the documented efficacy of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) and its designation as the “gold-standard” in the treatment of opioid use disorders, resistance among court officials and treatment providers has resulted in the underutilization of this treatment option in some jurisdictions. This webinar will identify barriers to MAT acceptance by prosecution, defense, judges, case managers, treatment providers, and other members of the treatment court team and will outline several approaches for addressing these common concerns about MAT. A site-specific strategy for providing training to drug court staff will be discussed.

After attending this webinar, attendees will be able to:  
  • Discuss the importance of MAT as a treatment response for persons with opioid use disorders. 
  • Understand common factors contributing to concerns around MAT among court officials court staff and treatment providers. 
  • Identify site-specific strategies to overcome MAT-related concerns.

Presenters:
  • Andrew Brown, M.P.A., Program Coordinator, Ottawa County Recovery Court, Michigan
  • Hon. William G. Meyer, Ret., Senior Judicial Fellow, National Drug Court Institute, Virginia
  • Laurence M. Westreich, M.D., Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York
RESOURCES AND REPORTS
DEA 2020 National Drug Threat Assessment
The 2020 National Drug Threat Assessment (NDTA) is a comprehensive assessment of the threat posed to the United States by the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs, the diversion and abuse of licit drugs, and the laundering of proceeds generated through illicit drug sales. It also addresses the role domestic groups, including organized violent gangs, serve in domestic drug trafficking.


DEA 2020 Emerging Threat Report
The Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) Special Testing and Research Laboratory’s Emerging Trends Program compiles the data for these reports through a query of archived seizure and analysis information from drug evidence analyzed by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s laboratory system.

Expanding Access to Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in Corrections and Community Settings
In partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Governors Association (NGA) and American Correctional Association (ACA) jointly released a roadmap for governors and corrections officials in developing solutions to address opioid use disorder and reducing opioid overdoses among people in the justice system and returning to communities. During this webinar, NGA and ACA provided an overview of the roadmap, which was developed to provide a step-by-step guide for governors and state officials to expand access to medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) with the goal of reducing recidivism, improving individual health, and strengthening public safety.

SOLICITATIONS & GRANTS
First Responders - Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act Grants
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is accepting applications for fiscal year2021 First Responders-Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act Grants. The purpose of this program is to allow first responders and members of other key community sectors to administer a drug or device approved or cleared under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) for emergency reversal of known or suspected opioid overdose. Recipients will train and provide resources to first responders and members of other key community sectors at the state, tribal, and local governmental levels on carrying and administering a drug or devices approved or cleared under the FD&C Act for emergency reversal of known or suspected opioid overdose. Recipients will also establish processes, protocols, mechanisms for referral to appropriate treatment and recovery support services, and safety around fentanyl, carfentanil, and other dangerous licit and illicit drugs.
Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) for State Prisoners Program
This program assists states with developing and implementing residential substance abuse treatment programs within state correctional facilities, as well as within local correctional and detention facilities, in which inmates are incarcerated for a period of time sufficient to permit substance abuse treatment. The program encourages the establishment and maintenance of drug-free prisons and jails and developing and implementing specialized residential substance abuse treatment programs that identify and provide appropriate treatment to inmates with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders or challenges.

The objectives of the program are to:
  • Enhance the capabilities of states and units of local and tribal governments to provide residential substance abuse treatment for incarcerated inmates.
  • Prepare individuals for reintegration into communities.
  • Assist individuals and communities through the reentry process by delivering community-based treatment and other broad-based aftercare services.
RECENT NEWS
"We Hispanics are the ones who are dying," a Massachusetts Latino says as more Americans battle opioid addiction.

Visits to hospital emergency departments decreased by more than 40% when the pandemic hit, but there was an increase in overdose related visits for patients experiencing drug-related crises.
RECENTLY PUBLISHED RESEARCH
Washington-Baltimore HIDTA Director, Tom Carr co-authored this paper examining how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected patterns of drug use in the United States by examining shifts in drug seizures.
The authors studied anonymous online market places and forums to profile the opioid supply chain. Results include characteristics of opioid suppliers, commodities, and transactions.

In a study of the relationship between county-level jail incarceration rates and mortality rates, the authors found a 2.6% increase in mortality induced from substance use associated with a 1 per 1000 with-in county increase in jail incarceration rate.

In Massachusetts, study authors examined police-assisted programs focused on connecting individuals to SUD services and found the following five key themes for implementing these programs: 1) program development was an ongoing process; 2) partnerships between police departments and community stakeholders were essential for starting and sustaining a program; 3) high-level leadership influenced program priorities and facilitated implementation; 4) program success was defined in multiple ways; and 5) programs contributed to shifts in beliefs about substance use and addiction among police officers.

This study of justice-involved persons identified profiles of polysubstance use and explored pre-incarceration polysubstance use involving opioids as a unique risk factor for postrelease return to substance use. Among persons who use opioids returning to the community, return to substance use occurs along a continuum of risk.
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