A number of multibillion-dollar settlements that opioid manufacturers and distributors agreed to pay may not wind up in the hands of addiction victims and state governments. By Alexander Saeedy Aug. 1, 2023 | 3:47 pm ET A number of prescription opioid manufacturers, including OxyContin developer Purdue Pharma and generics maker Mallinckrodt,[Read More…]
National News
Scenes From a City That Only Hands Out Tickets for Using Fentanyl
Oregon’s experiment to curb overdoses by decriminalizing small amounts of illicit drugs is in its third year, and life has changed for most everyone in the city of Portland. Photographs by Jordan Gale | Text by Jan Hoffman Jordan Gale has been photographing the drug crisis in Portland for more than two[Read More…]
Marijuana addiction is real. Those struggling often face skepticism.
By David Ovalle and Fenit Nirappil July 31, 2023 at 6:00 a.m. EDT Courtney took her first marijuana puffs at 17. Two decades later, she was raising a toddler son and hiding her dependence from most family members. She would light her pipe more than a dozen times a day, sneaking to the[Read More…]
FDA approves first opioid reversal drug from a nonprofit company
BY NATHANIEL WEIXEL | 07/28/23 1:01 PM ET The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the first version of over-the-counter (OTC) naloxone from a nonprofit company, a move that could bring cheap and even free doses of the opioid overdose drug to Americans who need it most. RiVive, made by Harm[Read More…]
A possible new way to prevent fentanyl overdoses: monoclonal antibodies
By Sabrina Moreno The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday gave a North Carolina biotech company the go-ahead to test if a monoclonal antibody can prevent people from overdosing on fentanyl. Why it matters: The synthetic opiate is becoming a leading cause of death for people under 50. Naloxone is currently the most[Read More…]
Mental illness, drug addiction go hand in glove, Biden’s drug czar tells lawmakers
By Simar Bajaj | July 27, 2023 WASHINGTON — At a House oversight hearing Thursday, the Biden administration’s top drug policy official emphasized the need to address both mental illness and drug addiction simultaneously to reduce fentanyl deaths. According to a 2021 survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, over nine[Read More…]
Fentanyl is spreading the opioid crisis into America’s big cities
And death rates may rise further. Jul 27th 2023 | CHICAGO In a world where open data makes spreadsheets with tens of thousands of anonymized entries available to the public, sometimes individual detail can still stand out. On Christmas Day last year, according to data downloaded from the Cook County medical examiner, the[Read More…]
As the opioid epidemic worsens, recovery-friendly policies are the next frontier in workplace inclusion
BY ERIKA FRY July 27, 2023 at 5:30 AM EDT An opioid emergency kit at Genfoot, a boot manufacturer in Littleton, N.H. PHOTOGRAPH BY TONY LUONG For employers interested in cultivating a recovery-friendly culture, getting started can be daunting. The U.S. Department of Labor offers some guidance at its Recovery-Ready[Read More…]
Addiction Recovery Care’s unique approach to addiction treatment
Amelia Ickes | Wednesday, July 26th, 2023 Kentucky recently ranked first in adult access to mental health, but fourth in drug overdose rates across the United States. Among the organizations addressing this disparity is Addiction Recovery Care, which offers the full continuum of addiction treatment across its 19 residential centers and 11 outpatient centers. Its first[Read More…]
Health: Providers still hesitate to prescribe buprenorphine for addiction, despite ‘X-waiver’ removal
By Lev Facher | July 21, 2023 Significant challenges remain before most American clinicians feel comfortable treating patients with buprenorphine, according to a new study. While the federal government’s recent moves to deregulate buprenorphine have led to a bump in new prescribers, it didn’t lead to a significant bump in overall prescribing volume. Many[Read More…]