Health May 11 CDC says more than 107,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021, setting ‘staggering’ record By Mike Stobbe, Associated Press
Politics Apr 24 WATCH: Trump, first lady speak at drug abuse summit in Atlanta President Donald Trump said his administration has secured $6 billion in federal dollars over two years to fight opioid abuse, but the epidemic won't be solved overnight. Opioid abuse claimed nearly 48,000 American lives in 2017.
Science Dec 23 Opinion: ‘Passive’ fentanyl exposure: more myth than reality 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. By Lewis S. Nelson, Jeanmarie Perrone
Nation Nov 10 HHS recommended that the DEA make kratom a Schedule I drug, like LSD or heroin The Department of Health and Human Services asserted in a letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration that two chemicals in kratom should be classified as Schedule I substances, meaning that the chemicals have “a high potential for abuse” and that… By Ike Swetlitz, STAT
Health Apr 30 Watch 7:40 How an opioid addiction can eat your heart alive The pathway to deadly heart infections for people addicted to opioids often begins with a dirty needle or polluted drug. Special correspondent Kay Colby of Ideastream reports on a little-known problem with big consequences for patients and society as a… By Kay Colby, ideastream
Mar 03 This scientist is testing a marijuana ingredient as a way to prevent relapse. It’s a daunting task By Megan Thielking, STAT A neurobiologist at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York thinks cannabidiol -- one of the two main compounds plucked from the marijuana plant -- might hold the potential to curb cravings for heroin and other opioids. Continue reading
Feb 22 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… Continue reading
Dec 21 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. Continue reading
Dec 15 Teens don’t always know what they’re vaping, study says By Michael Rios The study, called Monitoring the Future, was released Thursday by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the University of Michigan. It surveyed more than 43,000 eighth, 10th and 12th graders across the country in early 2017 about their… Continue reading
Dec 04 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. Continue reading