Jan 15 Heroin addiction is rare among painkiller abusers, study says By Shefali Luthra, Kaiser Health News A new review article published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine provides insights for policymakers on how to curb this deadly trend of prescription painkiller abuse… Continue reading
Jan 09 Watch 11:18 The opioid epidemic’s toll on pregnant women and their babies By Melanie Saltzman, Saskia de Melker The risk for overdose from opioid painkillers and heroin among women, including pregnant women, has skyrocketed, which means a growing number of babies are born dependent on opioids. NewsHour Weekend Special correspondent Alison Stewart reports on the challenges for pregnant… Continue watching
Jan 05 Watch 9:54 On the campaign trail in NH, heartbreak over heroin addiction By Judy Woodruff, Rachel Wellford The easy availability of cheap heroin and other opiates has exploded in New Hampshire, where more than 300 people died of drug overdose deaths in 2015. The crisis has prompted state leaders to offer plans on how to improve addiction… Continue watching
Dec 18 Deaths from drug overdoses reach record-high levels in 2014 By Joshua Barajas Nearly 50,000 people died from drug overdoses in the U.S. in 2014, a new record driven by the deaths of heroin addicts and people misusing prescription painkillers, new federal statistics showed. Continue reading
Oct 21 Obama says U.S. will tackle prescription drug and heroin abuse By Kathleen Hennessey, Associated Press WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama will take steps to improve doctor training and ease access to drug treatment as part of an effort to help communities battling the scourge of heroin and prescription painkiller abuse. Continue reading
Aug 17 White House launches initiative to combat heroin use By Associated Press The White House is launching a new $5 million initiative to combat heroin use and trafficking of the drug, particularly in states along the East Coast. Continue reading
Aug 12 Watch 5:32 How the ‘quietest’ drug epidemic has ravaged the U.S. By PBS News Hour Former Los Angeles Times reporter Sam Quinones examines the dramatic surge of heroin use in the U.S. in his new book, "Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic." Quinones paints a graphic portrait of the national problem in a… Continue watching
Feb 19 ASU and Arizona PBS’s new project sheds light on the state’s deadly heroin problem By Anna Sillers Arizona is one of the first states heroin reaches when it travels into the U.S. from the southwest border and the state has seen a massive increase in heroin use and overdoses in the past year. A new short film… Continue reading
Jan 28 Watch 7:28 Why a promising heroin addiction treatment is unavailable in many states By PBS News Hour More than 90 percent of heroin users who detox cold turkey will relapse, but there’s a dispute over prescribing drugs to help addicts get clean and keep them from deadly overdoses. Hari Sreenivasan talks to Ryan Grim of The Huffington… Continue watching
Dec 10 Watch 6:27 Why is there rampant heroin addiction among Myanmar’s jade miners? By PBS News Hour In northern Myanmar, there's an epidemic of heroin addiction and HIV infection among workers who mine for jade. Some believe the government is encouraging the use of drugs as a weapon against their people. Hari Sreenivasan talks to Dan Levin… Continue watching