September 2025 Luncheon

There have been at least three, perhaps four waves of opioid overdose deaths in the U.S. The first followed increasing prescriptions of natural and semi-synthetic opioids and methadone since 1999. The second began in 2010 with rapid increases in heroin-involved overdose deaths. The third began in 2013 with significant increases in overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids, especially fentanyl. Fentanyl, Carfentanil, Zylazine (a horse tranquilizer) mixed with heroin and methamphetamine are among the newest drugs showing up in overdose deaths with fentanyl garnering the most attention. Over several years opioid deaths have been decreasing. The first federally funded “narcotics farm” (NARCO), home to the Addiction Research Center, was established in Lexington in 1935. Research conducted at ARC has served as a foundation for basic science and clinical drug research from the mid-1930s to the present. Over the past 90 years researchers at UK have played critical roles in the scientific communities studying how to prevent and effectively treat drug abuse and dependence. Our speakers for the UKAEF meeting on September 9, 2025 continue that tradition.