This Week’s Focus: 4th Annual NDEWS Summit at the 2025 College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD)

The 87th Annual Meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD), held this week in New Orleans, is officially coming to an end.

Last Saturday, we hosted the 4th annual NDEWS Summit, bringing together nearly 100 participants both in person and via Zoom. It was our most attended meeting to date! The agenda featured a warm welcome from NIDA, updates from the NDEWS Coordinating Center, Sentinel Sites and Community-Based Health Experts, highlights from our latest publications, and a preview of the week’s scheduled presentations.

Sunday, June 15

Late-Breaking Abstract: Anesthetics (“-Caines”) Adulterate the Illicit Fentanyl Supply: A National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS) Alert | Joseph Palamar (NDEWS Co-Director), Joshua DeBord, Alex Krotulski  Bruce Goldberger

Poster: “Development and Implementation of a Mixed-Methods Psychological Autopsy Study for Acute Stimulant Poisoning Deaths” | Phillip Coffin (NDEWS SSD), Marley Antolin Muñiz, Xochitl Luna Marti, Sarah Brennan, Sophia Tavasieff, James Knoll, Luke Rodda, Vanessa McMahan 

Poster: “Perspectives on Naloxone and Fentanyl Test Strips For Opioid Overdose Prevention Among People Who Use Stimulants with Recent Overdose from Unintentional Fentanyl Use” | Elyssa Samayoa, Bryson Gomez, Caravella McCuistian, Patrick Low, Phillip Coffin (NDEWS SSD), Alexander Bazazi 

Poster: “Overdose Witnessing and “Overamping” Symptoms Among People Who Use Drugs in Non-Metro Illinois” | Mary Mackesy-Amiti (NDEWS SSD), Dana Chatila, Basmattee Boodram, Mai Pho 

Poster: “Trends in Nonfatal Fentanyl Poisonings Involving Stimulants in the United States, 2015–2023” | Nicole Fitzgerald (NDEWS & NIDA T32 Alumn), Joshua Black, Linda Cottler, Silvia Martins, Joseph Palamar 

Monday, June 16

Invited Symposium: Found in Translation: Coordinated Preclinical, Human Laboratory, and Epidemiological Approaches to Understanding Polydrug Use - “Assessing Human Drug Use Behavior for Later Back Translation to Animal Models” | Linda Cottler (NDEWS Director)

Presidential Symposium: “What Is Kratom and Is It Harmful or Beneficial?” | Christopher McCurdy (NDEWS Affiliate)

Oral Session - Sex Matters: Translational Evaluations of Sex-Specific Factors in Substance Use - “Sex Differences in Problematic Substance Use, Mental Health, and Social Determinants of Health among Middle-Aged and Older Adults in the All of Us Research Program” | Vijaya Seegulam (NIDA T32 Predoctoral Fellow), Bia Whipp, Liva LaMontagne, Linda Cottler 

Poster:“Natural Language Processing Analysis of 7-Hydroxymitragynine Reddit Discussion” | Daniel Van Zant (NIDA T32 Predoctoral Fellow), Kirsten Smith, Oliver Grundmann, Catherine Striley, Elan Barenholtz, Christopher McCurdy, Linda Cottler 

Poster: “Counterfeit Drugs and Epidemiological Surveillance: Understanding Recent Increases in Past Month Non-Medical Use of Prescription Opioids” | Matthew Ellis (NDEWS SAG), Kelly Ayres, Mance Buttram 

Tuesday, June 17

Poster: “Reported Use of Recreational and Medical Cannabis, Delta-8, and Delta-10: Findings from NDEWS Sentinel Sites and Hotspots (2022–2023)” | Tamara Millay (NDEWS Staff & CC Member), Vijaya Seegulam, Monica Bhargavi Kodali, Linda Cottler 

Mini Symposium: Leveraging Detected Drug Analytes in Blood to Monitor Novel Psychoactive Substance Use Trends among Emergency Department Patients Experiencing Non-Fatal Drug Overdose - “Geospatial and Temporal Patterns of NPS Detection in Non-Fatal Overdose Cases (2020-2025)” | Alyssa Falise (NIDA T32 Predoctoral Fellow Alum)

Symposium: Discovery and Development of Natural Products to Treat Pain and Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) - “Exploring the Science of Kratom: From the Traditional Use to FDA-Sponsored Clinical Trials” | Christopher McCurdy (NDEWS Affiliate) 

Symposium: Emerging Harm Reduction Responses to a Changing Substance Use Landscape in Latin America - “The Sudden and Prolonged Methadone Factory Closure in Mexico: Impacts on Patients Receiving Treatment in Tijuana Through Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches” | Annick Bórquez (NDEWS SSD) 

Mini Symposium: The Current Landscape of Medical and Recreational Ketamine Use - “Prevalence and Characteristics of Recreational Ketamine Use Among Nightclub Attendees and College Students in the New York Tristate Area” | Joseph Palamar (NDEWS Co-Director)

Poster: “Sociodemographic Characteristics Associated with Reported Heroin Use and Discrepancies Between Heroin Use and Toxicological Drug Detection Among ED Patients Experiencing Non-Fatal Overdose” | Alyssa Falise (NIDA T32 Predoctoral Fellow Alum), Rachel Culbreth, Kim Aldy, Sharan Campleman, Jeffrey Brent, Alex Krotulski, Paul Wax, on behalf of the ToxIC DOTS Study Group 

Poster: “Substance Use Amidst A COVID-19 Hotel Initiative for People Experiencing Homelessness: A Qualitative Study of Clients and Staff In New York City” | Sam Craft (2022 NDEWS Visiting Scholar), Hannah Passmore, Stephanie Blaufarb, Robin Freeman, Carolyn Berry, Jocelyn Moran, Iris Rodriguez, Reesa Henderson, Fabienne Laraque, Kelly Doran

Wednesday, June 18

Poster: “Alcohol Polysubstance Use among past 30-Day Opioid Users in Northern Florida: A Model for Back Translational Research” | Christian Conger (NIDA T32 Predoctoral Fellow), Linda Cottler

Oral Session: Machine Learning Etouffee: Maximizing the Menu of SUD Science - “Predicting Next Year Overdose Death Rates at County Level in the United States: A Statistical and Machine Learning Model Comparison to Produce 2025 Estimates” | Annick Bórquez (NDEWS SSD)

Poster: “Twining of Two Botanicals: Clinical Characteristics and Assessment Challenges of Kava and Kratom Use Among US Adults” | Kirsten Smith (NDEWS Affiliate)