fentanyl

Growing opioid crisis adds to Puerto Rico’s problems

By Dánica Coto, Associated Press

"Hardly anyone talks about this problem in Puerto Rico. It's like it doesn't exist," says Rafael Torruella, program director for a needle exchange program in Puerto Rico.

Opinion: ‘Passive’ fentanyl exposure: more myth than reality

By Lewis S. Nelson, Jeanmarie Perrone

Reports that merely being in a room with fentanyl, a powerful opioid, or its analogues can poison you don't match the action and effects of these drugs.

Nebraska executes inmate using powerful opioid fentanyl

By Grant Schulte, Associated Press

Nebraska carried out its first execution in more than two decades on Tuesday with a drug combination never tried before, including the first use of the powerful opioid fentanyl in a lethal injection.

WATCH: Minnesota prosecutor says no criminal charges will be filed in Prince’s death

By Associated Press

The prosecutor in the Minnesota county where Prince died said Thursday that no criminal charges will be filed in the musician's death, effectively ending the state's two-year investigation into how Prince got the fentanyl that killed him.

Doctor who treated Prince agrees to pay $30,000 settlement for illegal prescription

By Amy Forliti, Associated Press

The settlement between the U.S. Attorney's Office and Dr. Michael Todd Schulenberg comes as state prosecutors prepared to announce Thursday morning whether they'll file any criminal charges stemming from their two-year investigation into Prince's death.

Emergency department visits for opioid overdoses rise by 30 percent in a year

By Laura Santhanam

Emergency department visits linked to opioid overdoses are on the rise, and new data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Tuesday show virtually no sign of improvement across much of the U.S.

Opioid overdose deaths dropped in these 14 states, prompting cautious optimism

By Christine Vestal, Stateline

In an opioid epidemic that began in the late 1990s, drug deaths have been climbing steadily every year, in nearly every state. A break in that trend, even if limited to just 14 states, has prompted cautious optimism among some…

The opioid crisis is driving down U.S. life expectancy, new data shows

By Laura Santhanam

Life expectancy fell in the United States for a second straight year -- something that hasn't happened since the 1960s.

Fentanyl is so potent doctors don’t know how to fight it

By Nsikan Akpan

Russia once used fentanyl as a biological weapon. Now, illicit use of the lethal opioid is hindering therapy.

Deaths during opioid-driven hospital stays have quadrupled

By Laura Santhanam

The rate of hospitalization among white patients also doubled between 2007 and 2013 -- the “largest and fastest-growing share of hospitalizations” in recent years, according to the study published Monday in the journal Health Affairs.