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Action, Not Rhetoric, Needed to Reverse the Opioid Overdose Epidemic

2017; Cambridge University Press; Volume: 45; Issue: S1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1177/1073110517703310

1748-720X

Corey S. Davis, Traci C. Green, Leo Beletsky,

Prenatal Substance Exposure Effects

Despite shifts in rhetoric and some positive movement, Americans with the disease of addiction are still often stigmatized, criminalized, and denied access to evidencebased care. Dramatically reducing the number of lives unnecessarily lost to overdose requires an evidence-based, equity-focused, well-funded, and coordinated response. We present in this brief article evidence-based and promising practices for improving and refocusing the response to this simmering public health crisis. Topics covered include improving clinical decision-making, improving access to non-judgmental evidence-based treatment, investing in comprehensive public health approaches to problematic drug use, and changing the way law enforcement actors interact with people who use drugs.