Our authors, who direct the Addiction Institute for the Mount Sinai Health System in NewYork City, address the substance-abuse avalanche brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. ByYasmin L. Hurd, Ph.D., and Timothy Brennan, M.D. Illustration by Jarred Briggs
A S AMERICAN ADDICTION they were likely feeling pretty optimistic. Overdose death rates involving heroin, while still high, had dropped for the third year in a row. Indeed, it seemed like the opioid crisis had not only plateaued but was slowly starting to improve. Access to medication- assisted treatment had increased around the country; and for the first time in history, a variety of health tech startups were looking to leverage their expertise in innovative ways to bring treatment to economically disadvantaged areas. RESEARCHERS AND TREATMENT PROFESSIONALS WENT TO SLEEP ON NEWYEAR’S EVE 2019,
14 DANA FOUNDATION CEREBRUM | Winter 2022
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