Held April 6-9 in Nashville, event equips stakeholders with strategies to address nitazenes, trafficking, and pain management.
MALVERN, PA, UNITED STATES, February 25, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — As synthetic opioids evolve and overdose patterns shift, the 15th annual Rx & Illicit Drug Summit will bring federal leadership, nationally recognized clinical experts, and frontline professionals together April 6–9, 2026, in Nashville to deliver practical, data-driven strategies that strengthen prevention, treatment, recovery, and public safety responses nationwide. The nation’s most influential meeting addressing the opioid and illicit drug crisis, Rx Summit convenes decision-makers from federal to family to drive coordinated solutions.
Participants will gain direct insight from Sara Carter, Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), and Sanjay Gupta, MD, practicing neurosurgeon and CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent, alongside other experts who are shaping federal policy, advancing neuroscience-informed care, and confronting emerging synthetic opioid threats. By convening policymakers and practitioners in one forum, Rx Summit creates a working environment where national strategy and frontline implementation align.
With approximately 150 Americans dying each day from drug overdoses, the urgency to respond to increasingly potent synthetic opioids and evolving trafficking dynamics remains clear. Rx Summit provides structured collaboration across six tracks (Clinical, Public Safety, Prevention, Recovery Support, Advocacy, and Illicit Drugs) designed to translate evidence into action.
What Is Rx Summit?
Rx Summit is the nation’s most influential multidisciplinary conference focused on addressing the opioid crisis and illicit drug use through prevention, addiction treatment, coordinated law enforcement response, and recovery solutions. Now in its 15th year, the meeting brings together stakeholders — from federal to family — to reduce overdose deaths, align national strategy with frontline implementation, and strengthen systems of care across healthcare, government, public safety, and community sectors.
Federal Drug Policy and Trafficking Trends
ONDCP Director Sara Carter will address attendees during the following session:
• Morning Plenary
Wednesday, April 08 | 9 – 10:15 AM
This plenary session will provide an update on the evolving landscape of drug trafficking organizations and their impact on substance use trends, public health, and community safety. Carter will discuss enforcement strategies and shifting illicit supply chains influencing the opioid and stimulant crises.
Emerging Synthetic Opioid Threat: Nitazenes
Nitazenes are synthetic benzimidazole opioids significantly more potent than fentanyl and hundreds to thousands of times more potent than morphine. They have no approved medical use and are frequently mixed into fentanyl, heroin, and illicit benzodiazepines.
Rx Summit will address this emerging threat:
• Nitazenes – The New Drugs on the Block
Tuesday, April 7 | 1:15 – 2:30 PM
Presenters: Raeschell Williams, PharmD, MPH, BCPS, BCPP; Alexa Flood, PharmD
This session will review nitazene pharmacology, epidemiology, clinical presentation, withdrawal management, pharmacologic treatment strategies, harm reduction considerations, and symptom recognition in emergency and community settings, including the role psychiatric pharmacists play in treatment planning.
Additional sessions on emerging trends include:
• Are Novel Psychoactive Substances on Your Radar?
Wednesday, April 8 | 7:30 – 8:45 AM
Presenters: Theresa Meli, MS, D-ABFT-FT; Jillian Neifeld, MS, D-ABFT-FT; Jack Kain, PharmD; Sarah Bartock, PhD, F-ABFT
This session focuses on rapidly shifting drug trends, including carfentanil and fluorexetamine, a designer stimulant.
• Fake Pills: Current Landscape and Evolving Challenges in Monitoring Counterfeit Drugs & Reducing Risk to the Public in the US
Monday, April 6 | 1:15 – 2:30 PM
Presenters: Jody Green, PhD, FAACT; Jason Bordelon, BS Chemistry, MS Chemistry; Kait Brown, PharmD, DABAT; Joshua Black, PhD
This session discusses the current supply of illicitly manufactured drugs that mimic FDA approved medications but contain fentanyl, methamphetamines, or no active substances at all.
• Medetomidine: Xylazine’s Nastier Cousin Has Arrived!
Wednesday, April 8 | 10:30 – 11:45 AM
Presenters: William Lynch, BS Pharm, RPh; Jason Piotrowski, BA, MPH Candidate
This session focuses on medetomidine, a veterinary sedative 100-200 times more potent than xylazine.
• Gas Station, Smoke Shop, and Corner Store Drugs: The New World of Kratom, Cannabinoids, Psychedelics, and Other Substances in Your Neighborhood
Wednesday, April 8 | 4:30 – 5:45 PM
Presenters: Alex Krotulski, PhD; Barry Logan, PhD, F-ABFT
This session focuses on readily available, currently legal products that have effects similar to opioids and hallucinogenic drugs.
Advancing Integrated Pain Care
Untreated chronic pain remains a driver of opioid misuse and dependence. Rx Summit will feature:
• Afternoon Plenary – Rethinking Chronic Pain and the Opioid Crisis
Wednesday, April 08 | 2:45 – 3:30 PM
Speakers: Sanjay Gupta, MD; Eric Garland, PhD, LCSW; Dan Kruger
This solution-focused plenary will highlight emerging neuroscience, clinical strategies, and integrated approaches such as Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE), advancing non-opioid pain management models and supporting improved standards of care for individuals living with chronic pain and opioid dependence.
Why the 15th Anniversary Rx Summit Matters
As synthetic compounds evolve and trafficking networks adapt, effective response requires alignment across policymakers, clinicians, public health leaders, and public safety professionals. Rx Summit functions as a national working event where attendees examine real-time data, exchange operational strategies, and leave with measurable next steps.
“Communities across the country are confronting rapidly changing synthetic drug threats while working to strengthen prevention, treatment, and recovery systems,” said Doug Edwards, SVP, Behavioral Health, HMP Global. “Rx Summit brings federal leadership, clinical expertise, and frontline experience together in one setting so participants can share evidence-based strategies, address emerging risks like nitazenes, and return home with practical solutions that save lives.”
Key Benefits for Attendees
• Direct engagement with federal policymakers and national experts
• Evidence-based updates on synthetic opioids and emerging drug trends
• Integrated clinical strategies for chronic pain and substance use disorder
• Multidisciplinary collaboration across healthcare, public safety, and recovery sectors
• Continuing education opportunities, including MATE Act-aligned training
Event Details and Registration
• Name: Rx and Illicit Drug Summit
• Dates: April 6-9, 2026
• Location: Gaylord Opryland Resort and Hotel, Nashville, Tennessee
• Website
• Registration
• LinkedIn
About HMP Global
HMP Global is the omnichannel market leader in healthcare events, education, and insight — with a mission to improve patient care. For 40 years, the company has built trusted brands including Psych Congress, the premier source for mental health education, and the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC), the largest wound care meeting in the world. HMP Global partners with leading experts around the world to deliver more than 450 annual events, medical strategy, and marketing for pharmaceutical and medical device customers through HMP Collective, and pharmaceutical market insight, engaging a global community of healthcare stakeholders that includes nearly 2 million clinicians across 600 medical specialties as well as managed care, behavioral health, senior living, emergency medical, and pharmaceutical commercialization professionals. For more information, follow HMP Global on LinkedIn or visit hmpglobal.com.
Sandi Beason, APR
HMP Global
pr@hmpglobal.com
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