• Deal with OxyContin maker leaves families angry, conflicted

    Deal with OxyContin maker leaves families angry, conflicted

    Sep 02, 2021 06:17 PM EST

    "You don't take the architects of the opioid crisis and give them a sweetheart deal," said Ed Bisch, whose 18-year-old son died of an overdose nearly 20 years ago. "Where is the deterrent?" Bisch, who has spent more than a decade pushing for the Sacklers to ...

  • Judge conditionally approves Purdue Pharma opioid settlement

    Judge conditionally approves Purdue Pharma opioid settlement

    Sep 01, 2021 09:09 PM EST

    ... attorney-client privilege. Purdue has said the settlement overall will be worth about $10 billion, a figure that includes the value of addiction treatment and overdose antidote drugs it is developing. The bankruptcy case is not the first time Purdue had faced legal trouble over the marketing of its prescription ...

  • Officers, paramedics charged in Elijah McClain’s 2019 death

    Officers, paramedics charged in Elijah McClain’s 2019 death

    Sep 01, 2021 04:52 PM EST

    ... said a combination of a narrowed coronary artery and physical exertion contributed to McClain's death. Dr. Stephen Cina found no evidence of a ketamine overdose and said several other possibilities could not be ruled out, including an unexpected reaction to ketamine or the chokehold causing an irregular heartbeat. The ...

  • She started an underground clean needle exchange and changed lives

    She started an underground clean needle exchange and changed lives

    Aug 12, 2021 10:20 PM EST

    ... Now that white people are dying, we're blaming the Sackler family. We're blaming Purdue Pharma. When Black and brown people were dying of overdose, it was their fault. It was because they were immoral. The war on drugs has failed. And racialized drug policy is continuing to put ...

  • Families paying off rent, food, debts with child tax credit

    Families paying off rent, food, debts with child tax credit

    Jul 30, 2021 03:46 PM EST

    ... Yellen says “The additional money does help alleviate the pressure,” said Walker, 29, who took custody of her two siblings last year after her mother overdosed. The $800 credit will help make up for losses she incurred after quitting a kitchen design job to care for the five youngsters, ages ...

  • 50-year war on drugs imprisoned millions of Black Americans

    50-year war on drugs imprisoned millions of Black Americans

    Jul 26, 2021 04:55 PM EST

    ... legalization poses more risks to Americans than it would any benefits. Provisional data released in December from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show overdose deaths from illicit drug use continued to rise amid the global COVID-19 pandemic. And according to the latest Drug Enforcement Administration narcotics threat ...

  • How the opioids settlement will impact communities affected by addiction

    How the opioids settlement will impact communities affected by addiction

    Jul 21, 2021 10:35 PM EST

    After more than two years of negotiations, a number of states agreed to a $26 billion settlement with three large drug distributors and Johnson & Johnson for their roles in the opioids epidemic. Half a million deaths over two decades are attributed to opioids and fatal overdoses. William Brangham discusses the ...

  • U.S. life expectancy in 2020 saw biggest drop since WWII

    U.S. life expectancy in 2020 saw biggest drop since WWII

    Jul 21, 2021 02:50 PM EST

    ... said Mark Hayward, a University of Texas sociology professor who studies changes in U.S. mortality. Killers other than COVID-19 played a role. Drug overdoses pushed life expectancy down, particularly for whites. And rising homicides were a small but significant reason for the decline for Black Americans, said Elizabeth ...

  • U.S. opioid lawsuits on verge of settlements with 4 companies

    U.S. opioid lawsuits on verge of settlements with 4 companies

    Jul 20, 2021 06:49 PM EST

    ... have maintained that they were filling orders of legal drugs placed by doctors — so they shouldn't shoulder blame for the nation's addiction and overdose crisis. An Associated Press analysis of federal distribution data found that enough prescription opioids were shipped in 2012 for every person in the U ...

  • News Wrap: Tokyo sees highest COVID cases since May, days before Olympic Games

    News Wrap: Tokyo sees highest COVID cases since May, days before Olympic Games

    Jul 14, 2021 10:50 PM EST

    ... a German TV -- quote -- "The consequences are going to be unbelievably bad." There is word that the opioid fentanyl helped to drive U.S. drug overdose deaths to a record high last year. Federal figures show 93,000 deaths, up nearly 30 percent from a year earlier. Difficulties in getting ...