Alternative use of buprenorphine among people who use opioids in three U.S. Cities.

: Buprenorphine is an effective treatment for opioid use disorder, yet some persons are concerned with its "alternative use" (i.e., any use unintended by the prescriber).

Trends in opioid initiation among people who use opioids in three US cities.

Introduction And Aims: The increased availability of prescription opioids (PO) and non-medical prescription opioids (NMPO) has fundamentally altered drug markets and typical trajectories from initiation to high-risk use among people who use opioids (PWUO). This multi-site study explores trends in opioid initiation in three US cities and associations with sociodemographic factors, current drug use and overdose risk.

Design And Methods: We analysed survey data from a cross-sectional study of PWUO in Baltimore, Maryland (n = 173), Boston, Massachusetts (n = 80) and Providence, Rhode Island (n = 75).

Preference for drugs containing fentanyl from a cross-sectional survey of people who use illicit opioids in three United States cities.

Background: Death from fentanyl-related overdose is now a leading cause of mortality among US adults. We sought to characterize fentanyl preference among street-based people who use drugs (PWUD).

Methods: Cross-sectional surveys were administered to PWUD (N = 308) who illicitly used heroin or prescription opioids in the prior six months.

Harm reduction measures employed by people using opioids with suspected fentanyl exposure in Boston, Baltimore, and Providence.

Background: Exposure to potent synthetic opioids such as illicitly manufactured fentanyl (IMF) has fueled the escalating overdose crisis in the USA, particularly in the east coast. Drug checking services, which allow people who use drugs (PWUD) to learn about the contents of their drugs, remain limited and even criminalized in many states. Further, there is a persistent belief that PWUD are not willing or able to change their behaviors despite being aware of their potential exposure to fentanyl through drug use.

Willingness to Use Safe Consumption Spaces among Opioid Users at High Risk of Fentanyl Overdose in Baltimore, Providence, and Boston.

Safe consumption spaces (SCS) are evidence-based interventions that reduce drug-related morbidity and mortality operating in many countries. However, SCS are yet to be widely implemented in the USA despite the escalating overdose epidemic. The aim of this multi-city study was to identify the factors associated with willingness to use a SCS among people who use drugs (PWUD) in Baltimore, Providence, and Boston, stratified by injection drug use status.

Acceptability of implementing community-based drug checking services for people who use drugs in three United States cities: Baltimore, Boston and Providence.

Background: North America is experiencing a rising trend of opioid overdose exacerbated primarily in recent years through adulteration of the heroin supply with fentanyl and its analogues. The east coast of the United States has been particularly hard hit by the epidemic. In three east coast states of Maryland, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, fentanyl has been detected in over half of all overdoses with available toxicology screens.