Joseph Friedman, MD, PhD, MPH

Charting the Course of US Overdose and Mental Health Crises

[Joseph Friedman, MD, PhD, MPH @JosephRFriedman]

Today in @NEJM w/ @DrScottHadland: Overdose deaths among high schoolers are rising despite fewer teens using illicit drugs.

We explain how physicians, teachers and parents can help teens stay safe despite counterfeit pills making experimentation risky.

https://t.co/TPe16QnJB4

[Joseph Friedman, MD, PhD, MPH @JosephRFriedman]

Out now in @AddictionJrnl:

We find that the fourth wave of the overdose crisis (fentanyl plus stimulants) declined for the first time in 2024, but deaths involving stimulants, deaths involving xylazine, and racial disparities remain growing issues

https://t.co/cVHFwbP5fF

[International Journal of Drug Policy @ijdrugpolicy]

“US overdose mortality saw first drop below the Jalal-Burke exponential growth curve in 2024” by @JosephRFriedman and colleagues (2026) via @ijdrugpolicy…what factors most contributed to the 2024 overdose mortality decline?

Link: https://t.co/ocELbXqyDD

#DrugPolicy

[Igor D. Bandeira, MD, PhD @igorbandeira]

New publication! 🧠

Excited to share our latest paper, for which I am co-first author. This randomized controlled trial provides the first evidence that #buprenorphine can prolong and augment #ketamine’s antisuicidal effects in depression.

https://t.co/kxDE7cdg2R

[Joseph Friedman, MD, PhD, MPH @JosephRFriedman]

Out now in @ijdrugpolicy "US overdose mortality saw first drop below the Jalal-Burke exponential growth curve in 2024"

Open access: https://t.co/lhg8WsTdO7

[Kevin H. Yang, MD @KevHYang]

Check out our new paper in @AmJPrevMed: #cannabis is the most commonly microdosed substance in the US, nearly 2x more than #psilocybin, and mostly for medical vs recreational reasons

@NSatybaldiyeva
@wkepner
@JosephRFriedman
@eric_leas

https://t.co/jpJm59WoUW

[Joseph Friedman, MD, PhD, MPH @JosephRFriedman]

Based on viewpoint in @TheLancetPH with @DanCiccarone

https://t.co/mGf37fD9Rn

[Joseph Friedman, MD, PhD, MPH @JosephRFriedman]

Counterfeit pills confer unique risk by expanding who is vulnerable to fentanyl and synthetic drug overdose.

Many consumers who would never try fentanyl powder may be willing to take a tablet they believe to contain oxycodone or alprazolam.

Full talk: https://t.co/glHRdgs8m0

[Alhelí Calderón Villarreal, MD, PhD, MPH @alhelicalderon]

Acabamos de publicar el artículo original en donde analizamos los riesgos a la salud en la región costera binacional de #SanDiego #Tijuana #Rosarito
https://t.co/OlQ4lSWz7a

[Alhelí Calderón Villarreal, MD, PhD, MPH @alhelicalderon]

Great opportunity! Assistant Professor position in Public Health at California State University San Marcos https://t.co/PJWWwKaDEG

[Stefan Kertesz, MD, MSc @StefanKertesz]

1/🧵Fact: US doctors reduced #opioid prescribing far more quickly than they increased opioid prescribing in the first place
It's almost never reported by the media.
Let's see the data, then talk about what happened..

[Joseph Friedman, MD, PhD, MPH @JosephRFriedman]

California is “the state with the single highest number of overdoses. Really, the single most important place to tackle the overdose crisis, I would argue, is California. We’re the overdose capital of the world.”
https://t.co/DqVewCqAtB

[Ricky N. Bluthenthal @RNBluthenthal]

US overdose deaths are dropping. Is California following? https://t.co/rGcMZruKkc with remarks by @RNBluthenthal & @JosephRFriedman More effort to reach Black and Latinx people who are at risk for overdose are needed.

[Joseph Friedman, MD, PhD, MPH @JosephRFriedman]

With emerging signs that fentanyl is becoming more common in Latin America--but limited official mortality records--linked EMS and emergency department data systems offer great potential for overdose outbreak monitoring.

Editorial in @AMJPublicHealth:
https://t.co/OHcBtLJDjS

[UC San Diego Department of Psychiatry @PsychiatryUcsd]

Excellent example of cross-border research led by Dr @JosephRFriedman a resident examining: Illicit Fentanyl Use and Hepatitis C Virus Seroconversion Among People Who Inject Drugs in Tijuana and San Diego: Results From a Binational Cohort Study
#fentanyl
https://t.co/NOiiBT0qjB

[Joseph Friedman, MD, PhD, MPH @JosephRFriedman]

@AlejandraGlzMor @caro_batis @mishaunar @tshamah1 @mauhernandez80 @rperezescamilla @1CINyS @inspmx Felicidades 🎉🎉🎉

[Joseph Friedman, MD, PhD, MPH @JosephRFriedman]

@will_eger @NIDAnews @angiebazzi @chngin_the_wrld @erikacrable @TSBartholomew1 Congratulations!!! 🎉

[Joseph Friedman, MD, PhD, MPH @JosephRFriedman]

Xylazine from Philly to Tijuana:Epidemiological Trends and Clinical Management

Today at noon PT! https://t.co/12P1BubmXc

[Joseph Friedman, MD, PhD, MPH @JosephRFriedman]

Xylazine from Philly to Tijuana:Epidemiological Trends and Clinical Management

Today at noon PT! https://t.co/12P1BubmXc

[Joseph Friedman, MD, PhD, MPH @JosephRFriedman]

Out today in @sdutOpinion, Tara Stamos and my update on the overdose crisis in San Diego.

Death numbers are steadying, but a host of new synthetic drugs are taking root in the region.

https://t.co/8deCA9nS9M

[Steffanie Strathdee, PhD 🗡️ 🦠Superbug Slayer🗡️ @chngin_the_wrld]

Awesome #OpEd by @JosephRFriedman & Tara Stamos-Buesig from #HarmReduction Coalition of #SanDiego on small gains to reduce #overdose deaths & the need for #drugchecking services to save even more in this era of toxic synthetic drug supplies.

https://t.co/4SIir2zbzS