Crossroad

A group of providers and staff with the Department of Health and Human Services are re-examining the state’s model for how to treat young people with substance use disorders and mental health challenges, following the closure last month of the state’s sole addiction treatment center for youth. 

More people in Manchester and Nashua have been using Narcan this year to revive someone who has overdosed on opioids

The data comes from American Medical Response, which provides emergency response services in southern New Hampshire.

AMR says that for the fourth consecutive month, a record number of people have used Narcan after an overdose before first responders arrive. 

Almost 500 infants born in New Hampshire between July 2018 and September 2019 had signs of neonatal abstinence syndrome. That's according to a new report from the State Child Advocate which looks at how well the state is dealing with the problem.

The report identifies systemic problems in how the Division for Children Youth and Families currently responds when a baby is born exposed to drugs.

Carroll County Commissioners voted 2 to 1 Wednesday against continuing the county jail's current Medication Assisted Treatment program, also known as MAT. MAT provides anti-opioid medications, along with counseling and therapy, to help people with substance use disorders.

Rockingham, Strafford, Cheshire, Grafton and Sullivan counties, along with the state prison in Berlin, and the men and women’s prison in Concord, currently offer this type of treatment.

Carroll County's MAT program has been in limbo since commissioners voted 2 to 1 in October against having an MAT policy.

An estimated 14,000 children in New Hampshire were affected by opioid abuse in 2017. That's the finding of a new study that tries to quantify the impact of the opioid crisis on children in America.

The study from the United Hospital Fund shows 51 out of every 1,000 kids in New Hampshire were impacted by the opioid crisis in 2017, either from their parent's opioid use or their own. 

Each week in Manchester, in an undisclosed location, a similar scene unfolds. On this particular day, in early September, it goes like this: A few people set up a card table in a shady spot. In front of the table they place a few plastic buckets.

Soon, a woman approaches holding a shopping bag. Inside are several used syringes. She empties the bag into one of the buckets, chats with the people manning the table, then refills the bag with a few boxes of clean syringes.

Dartmouth College has received a $4 million grant to research new models for providing opioid addiction treatment to patients outside of traditional healthcare settings.

The grant will fund a number of different research projects at Dartmouth, including a pilot program to test the effectiveness of a new injection-form of buprenorphine, a drug that can reduce withdrawal symptoms for people suffering from opioid addiction.

Another project will look at how opioid addiction treatment is administered in emergency rooms.

Peter Fifield says the moment when someone struggling with addiction decides they are ready for help can be a fleeting one. The mental health and drug and alcohol counselor sees it firsthand. He manages one of nine locations around New Hampshire where people can seek help.   

These “hubs” are part of the state’s new Doorway program, launched in January with federal funding to address the state’s addiction crisis. “The walk-in access is paramount,” Fifield said on The Exchange.  “They can just walk in and get connected.”

The state of New Hampshire is suing four members of the Sackler family who own drug maker Purdue Pharma.

Read the lawsuit here.

The state accuses the Sacklers of being the architects of a deceptive marketing campaign around opioids that contributed to the state's drug crisis.

The New Hampshire Attorney General's office is objecting to a proposed settlement offered by drug maker Purdue Pharma.

The maker of oxycontin is hoping to resolve thousands of lawsuits that allege the company played a major role in creating the opioid crisis.

Documented opioid overdoses in Manchester and Nashua are on the decline, but in Manchester, overdose deaths are increasing.

New data from the emergency response group American Medical Response shows a mixture of progress and struggle for those coping with opioid use disorder and the agencies tasked with supporting them.

Trump administration officials announced Wednesday morning that New Hampshire will receive more than $26 million in a new round of federal grants designed to combat the opioid crisis.

  Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig is demanding the state open more treatment and support options across New Hampshire for those suffering from opioid addiction and other substance abuse disorders.

Craig and other Manchester officials said Friday they’re overwhelmed by the high numbers of people coming to their city from other communities to find help. They also expressed frustration with the governor's office.

The New Hampshire Attorney General’s office says it has decided to join a massive multi-state lawsuit against makers of generic drugs.

The move comes after the AG’s office faced pressure from state lawmakers for not joining the suit sooner.

The number of prescriptions for the opioid addiction treatment drug buprenorphine for people on Medicaid in New Hampshire has more than quadrupled since 2011, according to a new report.

The report from the Urban Institute shows that in 2011, about 8,000 prescriptions for buprenorphine were written for people on Medicaid in New Hampshire.

New research from the drug court program in Nashua shows a majority of people in the program have suffered from a significant number of childhood traumas.

Studies have previously shown that Adverse Childhood Experiences or ACEs can predispose people for a whole host of negative outcomes later in life -- from anxiety and depression to cancer and diabetes.

The Washington Post has released data obtained by the Drug Enforcement Administration that is painting a clearer picture of the prevalence of opioid drug use in New Hampshire.

According to the data, 280 million oxycodone and hydrocodone pills were supplied to the state between 2006 and 2012. That’s about 36 pills per person, per year.

Governor Sununu cut the ribbon Wednesday for the opening of a new transitional home for mothers recovering from substance abuse.

The new facility in Rochester is named Abi's Place after Abi Lizotte, a young mother who died of substance abuse in December 2017.  She played a critical role in the opening of Hope on Haven Hill, a substance abuse treatment center for homeless women with children, also in Rochester. 

A trailer offering a glimpse inside the bedroom of a teenage drug user is traveling the state over the next week, making stops in Concord, Dover, Portsmouth, Exeter and Manchester. 

Inside, it's set up with signs of drug abuse that the average parent might not notice: discarded paraphernalia in the trash, shoelaces and belts that have been used as tourniquets, stashed drugs hidden under drawers.

Eight organizations have applied for a share of nearly $1 million in public funds aimed at helping New Hampshire’s business community address the opioid crisis.  

The organizations, mostly non-profit recovery groups, are looking to use the money to offer training to local businesses on how to support workers struggling with drug or alcohol addictions, according to the Community Development Finance Authority, which is distributing the grants.