September 25, 2023
Recently, hundreds of advocates gathered for the Mobilize Recovery conference in Washington, D.C., to call for political action and support for people in recovery from opioid and substance use disorders. In addition to connecting people in the recovery field to each other, the conference aims to make people in recovery a visible, viable political group that can push for political and social change. The event was attended by more than 500 organizers from all over the country and discussed a wide range of topics, from how to speak to teenagers about fentanyl and substance use to how best to divide opioid settlement funds being poured into states. (Article here)
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STARTING TODAY!!Last week. the Biden Administration announced it was relaunching a program that allows Americans to order free COVID-19 tests through the mail, ahead of a potential surge of infections this winter. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will award $600 million across twelve different U.S. manufacturers to produce the tests. The website, Covidtests.gov, will relaunch for new orders Monday and households will be able to order up to four tests, which are intended for use through the end of the year. (Articles here, here, and here; Press release here)
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| NYC Health Department releases new supervised injection guidelines |
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By Rebecca C. Lewis, Politico With no official state or federal regulations on the operation of supervised injection sites in New York City, the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has issued a new series of guidelines for current and future operators to follow. It includes rules for training, community engagement, staffing and eligibility. The guidance is the first of its kind since the city approved the opening of the nation’s first two supervised injection sites in late 2021. The addiction services nonprofit OnPoint NYC runs two supervised injection sites in New York City, places where people can use pre-obtained drugs such as heroin and cocaine under the supervision of professionals trained to prevent or reverse overdoses. Because such sites are still technically illegal under both federal and state law, they operate in a legal gray area with the cooperation of the city and police. But, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams last month seemed to indicate that the federal policy of noninterference may change in the absence of official regulations. Gov. Kathy Hochul has not publicly supported the sites, and her administration has not signed off on the use of opioid settlement fund money to run them. |