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☆ Addiction Treatment Medicine Is Vastly Underprescribed, Especially by Race, Study Finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Jan Hoffman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Despite the continuing rise in opioid overdose deaths, one of the most effective treatments for opioid addiction is still drastically underprescribed in the United States, especially for Black patients, according to a large new study. Within six months following a high-risk event like an overdose, white patients filled buprenorphine prescriptions up to 80 percent more often than Black patients, and up to 25 percent more often than Latino patients, the study found. Rates of use for methadone, another effective treatment, were generally even lower. Noting that all the patients regardless of race encountered doctors roughly once a month, he said, “There are two mechanisms left that could explain disparities this large. One is where people of color get their health care, which we know is highly segregated, and another is racial differences in patient trust and demand for buprenorphine.“

In the face of an escalating opioid epidemic, the F.D.A. recently approved over-the-counter sales for Narcan — a lifesaving nasal spray that can reverse an opioid overdose. Jan Hoffman, who covers health law for The Times, explains why the new availability of Narcan could change the trajectory of the epidemic.

☆ The Fight Over a Drug That Is Great for Horses but Horrific for Humans
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Jan Hoffman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, where the Philadelphia neighborhood of Kensington is ground zero for tranq dope, announced that his administration was doing so. Since then, it has been used for procedures on sheep, deer, elk and even cats and dogs, as well as on horses and cattle. Earlier trials in humans had been shut down because the drug led to respiratory depression, so manufacturers never sought approval for human use. And unlike the protocols for opioids, those for reversing tranq dope withdrawal or managing rehabilitation have not been standardized. Schedule III includes buprenorphine and the anticonvulsant drug gabapentin.

☆ Four bankers who helped Putin’s friend set up Swiss bank account convicted
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Four bankers who helped a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin move millions of dollars through Swiss bank accounts have been convicted of failing to perform due diligence in financial transactions. The executives — three Russians and one Swiss — helped Roldugin, who is godfather to Putin’s eldest daughter, Maria, deposit millions of francs in Swiss bank accounts between 2014 and 2016. The men, who cannot be identified under Swiss reporting restrictions, were found guilty at a hearing at Zurich District Court and were given fines totaling 741,000 Swiss francs ($809,000). Red flagsFurther investigations should have been conducted because of the amount of assets involved, which was more than 10 million Swiss francs ($11 million), the judge said. Sums of around 30 million Swiss francs ($31.84 million) were involved in the case, Hoffmann told an earlier hearing.

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