The Part 219 presentation will address the expanded scope of FRA's drug and alcohol control regulations to cover maintenance of way employees. The Part 243 presentation will provide an overview of program compliance requirements and address significant upcoming implementation deadlines.
The April 16-19 conference includes four special sessions on critical public health topics: the Rohingya refugee crisis in Bangladesh, the need for innovative use of big data in public health, the 1918 influenza centenary, and the U.S. opioid overdose epidemic.
"The opioid crisis is currently our most serious public health epidemic and despite efforts in every state, it's getting worse," Sen. Lamar Alexander said. "We've been listening to the experts for the last six months on how the federal government can help states and communities bring an end to the opioid crisis, and the bipartisan proposals in this draft reflect what we've learned."
To date IDPH has reports of 38 people in the Chicago area and in central Illinois who have experienced severe bleeding and reported using synthetic cannabinoids. All of those individuals have required hospitalization, and three of them tested positive for brodifacoum, a lethal anticoagulant often used as a rat poison.
The report confirms that recent increases in drug overdose deaths are fueled by continued, sharp increases in deaths that involve synthetic opioids other than methadone, such as illicitly manufactured fentanyl.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown is issuing an executive order declaring addiction and substance abuse to be a public health crisis in Oregon, and Canada’s minister of health announced new research projects and amendments to expand access to treatment options.
According to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 6.4 million Americans abused controlled prescription drugs, and a majority of abused prescription drugs were obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet.
During the 61st session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna, Austria, three organizations have committed to improving equitable access to controlled medicines for pain management and palliative care and to scale up efforts to prevent non-medical drug use and to provide treatment services drug use disorders.
"This information allows us to look at the areas where the opioid crisis is doing the most damage," Acting Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said. "Through this data, we can see where prevention is needed, where rescue can be improved, and where treatment is necessary to help those communities that have been affected the most by the opioid epidemic."
The tool contains an algorithm for searching chemical databases that can recognize new fentanyl analogs even if there are no matches in the chemical databases forensic chemists are using to identify illegal drugs.
"We continue to urge that funding be provided for up-front mental health and substance abuse treatment, diversion programs, specialty courts, and other focused interventions that help an offender get their life back on track and avoid further criminal activity," said District 11 District Attorney Kevin Buchanan, president of the Oklahoma District Attorneys Association.
A new Vital Signs report from the agency, based on emergency department data, shows in the nine months through September 2017, overdoses increased across all regions, in most states, for both men and women, and for most age groups. They were up about 30 percent overall, with the largest increases mainly in western states.
What we as leaders do and don't can go well beyond just affecting organizational members' work life; it can also impact their personal lives.
The board also will recommend removing a cap on the number of growers, processors, and dispensaries in West Virginia.
Treatment Improvement Protocol 63, "Medications for Opioid Use Disorder," reviews the use of methadone, naltrexone, and buprenorphine, the three FDA-approved medications to treat opioid use disorders.
Michael Feasel, Ph.D., is working to understand the effects of carfentanil at the cellular and systemic levels in order to help determine the dosage of naloxone needed to resuscitate people who have been exposed to the powerful opioid.
The bill, which has been proposed by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws' local branch, also would require employers to provide evidence that an employee was unable to perform his or her duties because of marijuana use.
Gov. Kate Brown's executive order calls for a statewide strategy to combat addiction.
The city will ask Seattle Municipal Court to vacate misdemeanor marijuana possession convictions prosecuted by the city before pot was legalized in Washington in 2012. Mayor Jenny Durkan and City Attorney Pete Holmes announced the decision Feb. 8.
Gov. Jim Justice's plan will target two counties hit hard by the opioid epidemic. This will be a demonstration project trying to halt the flow of opioids, bring more addicts into treatment, and reduce overdose deaths.