Dr. Saloner Discusses Opioid Dependence vs Addiction at the NPSC Congressional Briefing

On November 19, 2019 the NPSC and the Congressional Addiction, Treatment and Recovery Caucus (ATR) convened a congressional briefing with internationally recognized experts to discuss the dual challenges of addiction and dependence in developing policy responses to the opioid epidemic. Although many people conflate addiction and dependence, they are not the same, and the distinction has important implications for the millions of people who rely on opioid medications for pain management. Dr. Brenden Saloner, from johns Hopkins School of Public Health, served as the public policy researcher on the briefing panel. He conducts research on policies to reduce overdose risk and improve access to evidence-based substance use disorder treatment, with a particular focus on opioid use disorder. He is the principal investigator of an early career award from NIDA and a grant from Arnold Ventures to study access to medication treatment for opioid use disorder among people in the criminal justice system. He has also focused on overdose risk surveillance in partnership with the Maryland Department of Health under a grant sponsored by the US Department of Justice. Dr. Saloner served on the task force to develop a public health opioid strategy for the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health.