Read the December 2020 issue of CFTN
Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is an evidence-based treatment paradigm for substance use disorders that incorporates FDA-approved medications along with counseling and behavioral therapies into a “whole-patient” centered approach. Research has demonstrated that this combination treatment paradigm can help to sustain recovery. Treatment professionals agree that monitoring drug use during treatment can be a powerful incentive for abstinence and can provide an early indication of a return to drug use.
The illicit drug scene continues to evolve as drug distributors and clandestine chemists work to stay ahead of federal regulations and detection. So-called “designer” drugs make up a lot of this dynamic landscape. Isotonitazene is one of the most recent designer opioids to emerge on the scene in the United States.
Nerve agents have been the topic of conversation in many news reports lately. Nerve agents are organophosphosporus compounds that affect the nervous system and produce a cholinergic syndrome. Exposure may occur occupationally, through organophosphate pesticides, or less commonly, as a result of bioterrorism. Synthetic nerve agents such as soman (GD), tabun (GA), sarin (GB), and VX have been used in bioterrorist attacks. Recently, Novichok agents have been used for assassination attempts.
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