US Gov’t Initiates a System to Monitor Emerging Drug Trends

The US National Institute of Health said it is developing a new system to monitor emerging drug trends that will help health experts respond quickly to potential outbreaks of illicit drugs such as heroin and to identify increased use of designer synthetic compounds

The National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS) will scan social media and Web platforms to identify new trends as well as use conventional national- and local-level data resources.

"NDEWS will generate critically needed information about new drug trends in specific locations around the country so rapid, informed, and effective public health responses can be developed precisely where needed," said NIDA Director Dr Nora D. Volkow. "By monitoring trends at the local level, we hope to prevent emerging drug problems from escalating or spreading to surrounding regions."

The University of Maryland's Center for Substance Abuse Research (CESAR) will receive five years of funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, to develop NDEWS.

Information about designer synthetic drugs - including different ways to possess and use them - is rapidly spread to millions of people through the Internet and social media. Also, other drug trends may quickly change. An example is the recent increases in heroin use among many regions across the US. Conventional methods to monitor drug trends may not ask about emerging drugs, do not always provide information about the types of drugs used at the community level and may need a year or more to collect and report information.

Currently, NIDA conducts local-level surveillance on drug use through the Community Epidemiology Work Group (CEWG) network. For the last 38 years, CEWG has relied on drug addiction experts to analyse data from various other sources and summarise this information in semiannual reports from sentinel sites - major metropolitan areas and some states from around the United States.

NDEWS will continue to monitor drug trends in sentinel sites around the country using many of the national and local data sources that have been utilised by CEWG. To expand upon these efforts and produce an enhanced national system to reflect that new drug trends may emerge outside of sentinel sites, NDEWS will establish a virtual community - a network of addiction experts across the country who will regularly communicate with each other to:

• Detect emerging drug trends using national and local data sources (existing surveys, various drug-related listservs and networks, and social media and web scans).
• Dispatch a rapid response team at hot spots - local areas with reported rapid increases in emerging drugs. This team will assess the outbreak and collect anonymous urine samples - provided by criminal justice drug testing programs - for enhanced analysis that includes testing for synthetic drug metabolites.
• Quickly disseminate information to the public using traditional and social media, Web sites, publications and newsletters.

"NDEWS promises to provide the country with critically needed real-time information about changing drug use patterns in communities across the country," said lead investigator Dr Eric Wish of CESAR. "It will utilize social media and other innovative technologies to identify emerging drugs and trends and to quickly disseminate important findings to experts and interested citizens. This opportunity builds on CESAR's over 20 years of experience monitoring and reporting on emerging drugs."

Independent studies have shown that opioid is the choice of drug amongst celebrities and even doctors suffering from prescription drug dependence. This has led to reports of health care providers steering clear of the drug. The problem of drug dependence has led to the promotion and increased sale of anti-addiction medication such as naltrexone.

Manufacturers have also started experimenting with the form of drugs -- painkillers coming in "abuse-deterrent" forms and anti-addiction drugs in injection or implant form to address the problem of non-compliance among patients.

BioCorRx Inc.'s (OTCQB: BICX). among the companies utilizing the implant form of naltrexone, which had been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat alcohol and opioid addiction, for its Start Fresh Program.

The program uses a biodegradable implant formulation of naltrexone, which curbs an addict's physical cravings for opioid drugs and alcohol for several months, and a series of private, one-on-one life coaching sessions to help recovering addicts plan for a life free from substance abuse. (Learn more information about the program via phone: 714-462-4880, or by visiting www.startfreshprogram.com).