An article on the opioid epidemic in Western New York interviews Richard D. Blondell, MD, professor of family medicine and vice chair of addiction medicine, who said that when Prescription Monitoring Programs started to take effect, a vast population of addicts began turning to heroin. “When doctors stopped prescribing licit drugs to these patients, they turned to the illicit market where diverted prescription drugs and highly potent illegal drugs were becoming more available at lower costs,” he said.

Buffalo is home to the nation’s first opioid crisis intervention court, which can get users into treatment within hours of their arrest instead of days. The program is funded by a three-year, $300,000 grant from the U.S. Justice Department, which pays for a coordinator and case managers from UB Family Medicine, who enforce curfews, do wellness checks and transport patients.

Richard D. Blondell, MD, professor of family medicine and vice chair of addiction medicine, and Torin J. Finver, MD, clinical instructor of family medicine and program director for the addiction medicine fellowship, were interviewed about a proposal that would send those going through opiate withdrawal home to detoxify. “It is an interesting concept that should be funded. However, it would be important to also collect data to evaluate its effectiveness in the real world,” Blondell said.