According to the latest World Drug Report, about 60 million people reported opioid use in 2021. This figure represents 1.2% of the global adult population, of which an estimated 31.5 million used synthetic opioids, mainly heroin. Despite not being used massively, opioid drugs continue to be the most lethal group worldwide and represent two-thirds of deaths directly related to psychoactive substances (principally overdoses).

Regarding treatment needs for substance use disorders, around 38% of those who received such interventions during 2021 reported opioids as their primary drug of use. The gender perspective is crucial in this analysis since, compared to men, more women use non-prescription opioid medications, and fewer use other types of opiates.

For a deeper discussion, the Inter-American Commission on Drug Abuse Control (CICAD), the Valencia, Spain City Council, and the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) invite you to join the webinar “New guidelines for the health management of opiates” this Tuesday, November 7, starting at 10:00 (Washington, DC time). Panelists will be Beatriz Mesías Pérez (Deputy Director, Institute of Addictions, Madrid), Luz Adriana Rivera González (Health Promotion and Life Course Coordinator of the Psychoactive Consumption Reduction Program, in the Risaralda, Colombia, Departmental Health Secretariat), and Carlos Damín (Chief of the Toxicology Service in the “Dr. Fernández” General Hospital, in Buenos Aires, Argentina).

No certificates of attendance will be provided, and the slides will be available only in Spanish, but Spanish-English simultaneous interpretation will be available.

To attend, please register at your earliest convenience at https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/8716992203228/WN_UoaMXghbSBWDA9B9alZZ1w

For more information on the effects of opioids and the health consequences of their use, please visit the ISSUP networks: https://www.issup.net/network/144