Opioids

President Donald Trump has outlined  the federal plan to combat the opioid epidemic. Reno Public Radio’s Anh Gray spoke to a local health expert.

The focus of Trump’s plan includes an ad campaign discouraging drug use and expanding addiction treatment. Kevin Dick is with the Washoe County Health District.

In Nevada, nearly one out of five high school students have reported getting high on a prescription drug not prescribed to them. To curb this abuse, Reno Public Radio’s Anh Gray reports on a local organization trying to dispose of unused or excess medication.

Jennifer DeLett-Snyder heads up Join Together Northern Nevada, a coalition focused on curbing substance abuse. Several years ago, the group started a drug round up program.

In this installment of the University of Nevada School of Medicine health watch, we're talking about trends in opioid use, public health interaction and highlights of a new law that addresses opioid overdose. Our guests are Dr. Karla Wagner, an Assistant Professor at the School of Community Health Sciences at the  University of Nevada, Reno, and Richelle O'Driscoll, director of public affairs for the Division of Health Sciences and School of Medicine. 

A new Nevada law is aimed at expanding care and increasing prevention of drug overdoses from prescription opioids. Reno Public Radio's Esther Ciammachili has more. 

The law is a response to the recent nationwide spike in fatal overdoses on prescription painkillers and other opioids like heroin. 

The act goes into effect on October 1 and will allow doctors to write third-party prescriptions for drugs like naloxone that counteract the effects of opioids. Dr. Karla Wagner is with the School of Community Health Sciences at UNR.