ROC Weekly News Bites

Narcan to be Provided at all LAUSD Schools, $1.6 Billion for Communities Addressing Addiction, and Opioid Crisis Cost $1.5 Trillion in 2020

Here is a recap of some of the top industry-related news stories of the week:

Narcan to be Provided at all LAUSD Schools After Recent Teen Overdoses

The Los Angeles Unified School District announced it will make the anti-overdose medication Narcan available at all of its campuses by mid-October.

The announcement comes in response to recent fentanyl overdoses by students, including the death of a 15-year-old girl in the bathroom of Bernstein High School in Hollywood.

Doses of Narcan, or naloxone, will also be provided to all LAUSD School Police officers, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said. The doses will be provided by the county Department of Public Health at no cost.

The superintendent also announced plans for a district-wide education campaign, including a "peer-to-peer" effort to teach students about the consequences of fentanyl use.

See the original article.

Biden-Harris Administration Awards More Than $1.6 Billion in Funds for Communities Addressing Addiction and Overdose Crises

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), is awarding more than $1.6 billion in investments to communities throughout the country addressing the addiction and overdose crises, as a part of President Biden’s comprehensive effort to prevent overdoses and save lives.

The investments made through SAMHSA’s State Opioid Response (SOR) and Tribal Opioid Response (TOR) grant programs and HRSA’s rural communities opioid response programs will help communities looking to leverage every tool at their disposal – from prevention to harm reduction to treatment and recovery supports for people in need. In President Biden’s first State of the Union, he named addressing the opioid crisis and overdose epidemic a top priority of his Administration, and earlier this year released his National Drug Control Strategy to expand access to treatment for addiction and overdose, and to disrupt drug trafficking.

“Providing access to evidence-based, person-centered care is a central part of HHS’ strategy for ending the overdose crisis,” said Secretary Becerra. “I have heard many stories of despair from individuals battling addiction and from families who have lost loved ones to overdose. Through these grants, we are investing in evidence-based supports and services for individuals, families, and communities on the road to recovery. Through these grants, we are investing in hope.”

See the original article.

Opioid Crisis Cost U.S. Nearly $1.5 Trillion in 2020 -Congressional Report

Fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic toll of the opioid addiction and overdose crisis on the United States reached nearly $1.5 trillion in 2020 alone and is likely to grow, a congressional report shows.

The committee said in a Wednesday report that after adapting a method used by CDC scientists and adjusting for inflation, it found that the crisis cost the U.S. economy $1.47 trillion in 2020, a $487 billion increase from 2019.

"JEC is valuing all the various loss that happens with addiction. There's loss of productivity, folks in the job force, all the medical health costs, just a huge number of costs," said Trone, a Democrat who previously chaired the bipartisan U.S. Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking.

President Joe Biden announced nearly $1.6 billion to fund access to medications for opioid overdoses, sanctions against traffickers, and increased funding for law enforcement.

See the original article.

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