By Lisa McDonald
Nevada Today
RENO, Nev. — The U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance recently awarded the Reno Police Department two grants in which the University of Nevada, Reno Criminal Justice Department plays a big role. Assistant Professor Weston Morrow and Associate Professor Emmanuel Barthe are the resource partners behind a $687,000 grant to curb local gun violence and Barthe is the principal investigator of a $990,000 grant to reduce opioid addiction. Their roles are to assist with research, implementation of projects and evaluation of the grant.
This grant will help engage problem patients who doctor shop, seeking heavy prescriptions. It will rank doctors based on suspicious prescribing habits and will identify problem pharmacies who are complicit in the prescription diversion process.
The last time the Reno Police Department and the University were awarded this grant, they saw a 23 percent decrease in prescribing rates for doctors who prescribed opioids. The group is hoping to achieve similar results this time around.