How NIH is responding to the opioid crisis, locally and nationally

The White House announcement regarding the opioid crisis has generated a lot of buzz around America declaring it a public health emergency. A signed presidential memorandum issued Oct. 26 ordered the Acting Secretary of Health and Human Services to declare a national public health emergency, and instruct all federal agencies to use any emergency authorities available to reduce the number of overdose deaths due to opioid use.
As part of statewide efforts to address this opioid misuse, the Maryland Tech Council is hosting a breakfast with Dr. Nora Volkow, Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH, on November 29, 2017 at 7:30 am to discuss the current state of the crisis nationally and locally. The event will take place at The Universities at Shady Grove in Rockville.
NIH is supplementing existing research efforts with a public-private collaborative research initiative to address new and innovative medications to treat opioid addiction and to develop strategies to prevent and reverse opioid overdose, while providing safe, effective and non-addictive ways to manage chronic pain.
Baltimore has one of the highest overdose rates of any city, right here in our backyard. This event will benefit those who are from hospitals, community health systems and organizations, government agencies, pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies and treatment facilities. I urge you to join forces with us and over 100 key stakeholders to learn how we can combat this crisis together. One life lost is one too many.