The state spent $148,000 on a racial equity group to offer advice on how to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in opioid settlement funds. But after issuing recommendations, the group said it was ‘silenced.’
Opioids in Michigan
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
In Michigan, naloxone has reversed over 6,600 overdoses since 2020
Michigan spent $7 million this year from its slice of opioid settlement funds for naloxone, or Narcan, to reverse overdoses.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Michigan unveils spending on $1.5B opioid settlement, amid secrecy fears
Even as the state posted at least some details on a new website Wednesday about where settlement money is going, the chair of the Michigan Opioid Advisory Commission told lawmakers that the panel has struggled to get more detailed information from state health officials.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
More over-the-counter Narcan to hit Michigan shelves amid opioid epidemic
Access to the drug should increase in coming days after thousands of kits are shipped. Michigan has allowed over-the-counter sales since 2017, but not all pharmacies carried the drug that reverses overdoses.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Ingham County adds naloxone vending machine to combat opioid overdoses
Overdoses are down slightly statewide, but they remain a huge health concern. That’s prompted a push to make the overdose-reversing drug more available in public places.
Posted inGuest Commentary
Opinion | How to help stop the madness of Michigan fentanyl overdose
Fentanyl test strips can help prevent overdoses by alerting users to the presence of the synthetic opioid. The state should push for federal money to supply local health offices with test strips and help save lives.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Lifesaving Narcan for drug overdoses approved for over the counter sale
Doctors and substance abuse experts said a federal policy shift could make the drug, now available in pharmacies, far more convenient to buy at convenience stores, gas stations or from online retailers. But will it still be affordable?
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
‘Staggering’ rise in overdoses, suicides for African Americans in Michigan
The rate of opioid overdose deaths doubled among Black residents over a recent five-year period. Suicide rates jumped 88 percent. Advocates say isolation, treatment disparities and the ubiquity of fentanyl in street drugs are behind the increases.
Posted inGuest Commentary
Opinion | Non-opioid alternatives in Michigan hospitals would cut addiction
We need to not only better educate the public on non-opioid options but make it available to surgeons and remove barriers from our health providers.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Did COVID fuel drug overdoses? Michigan deaths surged last year.
Michigan’s increase in drug overdose deaths in 2020 wasn’t as high as the national average, but 2,743 people died across the state — a 16 percent rise over 2019.