Navigating the Fourth Wave of the Overdose Crisis: Understanding National Overdose Trends and Supporting Local Health Departments and their Harm Reduction Partners Meet New Challenges
"In the last year, more data has emerged that the US overdose crisis has moved into its fourth wave. This wave is marked by increased co-involvement of stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamine with illicitly manufactured fentanyl. In December 2023, the journal Addiction published a sweeping article Charting the Fourth Wave: Geographic, Temporal, Race/Ethnicity and Demographic Trends in Polysubstance Fentanyl Overdose Deaths in the United States, 2010-2021, detailing the shifting fourth wave of the US overdose crisis. CDC released a preliminary report in a February 2024 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly reporting an increase in overdose deaths from 2020 to 2022 due to illicit fentanyl and stimulant co-involvement. In this webinar, the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) will discuss what makes this fourth wave unique, including polysubstance use, geographic and demographic shifts in use, and shifting routes of substance use, as well as tools and resources for LHDs and their harm reduction partners to navigate these shifts and provide meaningful harm reduction resources to communities served. We will also spend time talking about changes in naloxone availability, including new over-the-counter options, new higher dose naloxone products, and compassionate overdose response. Joining this webinar will be Tim Santamour from Florida Harm Reduction Collective and other speakers to share resources and information on increasing naloxone access, compassionate overdose response, and current drug checking efforts.”