Dec 24 Watch 5:53 Why a judge rejected a settlement with the Sackler family for their role in opioid crisis By William Brangham, Courtney Norris Experts link a record number of overdoses this year from black market opioids back to the original marketing and distribution of legal opioids made by Purdue Pharma, the company owned by the Sackler family that made OxyContin. Last week, a… Continue watching
Dec 13 Watch 8:23 Do safe drug consumption sites save lives? Here’s what we know about NYC’s new venture By William Brangham, Mike Fritz, Leah Nagy Since last spring, more than 100,000 Americans have died of drug overdoses — many caused by the opioid, fentanyl. Officials are searching for solutions to try to save lives, including setting up authorized centers where people can use illegal drugs… Continue watching
Oct 04 Trial against pharmacy chains’ opioid sales begins By Mark Gillispie, Associated Press Jurors have heard opening statements in a federal court trial to determine whether retail pharmacy chains created a public nuisance in how they dispensed addictive painkillers in two Ohio counties. Continue reading
Jul 14 U.S. overdose deaths hit record 93,000 in pandemic last year By Mike Stobbe, Associated Press Overdose deaths soared to a record 93,000 last year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. government reported Wednesday. That estimate far eclipses the high of about 72,000 drug overdose deaths reached the previous year and amounts to… Continue reading
Jun 26 J&J agrees to pay $230M to settle New York opioid claim By Associated Press The deal announced on Saturday requires Johnson & Johnson to make a series of payments over nine years that will cover the total. The drugmaker also agreed to end the manufacturing and distribution of opioids across New York and the… Continue reading
Apr 27 U.S. lifts barriers to prescribing opioid addiction treatment By Carla K. Johnson, Associated Press New guidelines announced Tuesday mean doctors will no longer need extra hours of training to prescribe buprenorphine, a gold standard medicine that helps with cravings. Continue reading
Feb 04 McKinsey & Company agrees to pay nearly $600 million over opioid crisis By Geoff Mulvihill, Associated Press In a deal announced Thursday with attorneys general for most states, the company agreed to make public documents showing communications with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and three other companies that have been in the opioid business. Continue reading
Dec 22 Before COVID-19, U.S. life expectancy was making a slight rebound By Laura Santhanam New federal data shows life expectancy before the pandemic was on the rise, but tens of thousands of deaths caused by opioids… Continue reading
Oct 22 Watch 6:15 Conn. attorney general calls Purdue Pharma settlement ‘a mirage’ A historic settlement was announced Wednesday among the Department of Justice, Purdue Pharma and members of the Sackler family over the drug giant’s role in the national opioid crisis. The CDC estimates roughly 450,000 people died from opioid overdose between… Continue watching
Oct 21 Worsening opioid crisis overshadowed in presidential race By Farnoush Amiri, Report for America, Geoff Mulvihill, Associated Press The coronavirus outbreak and the Trump administration's response to the pandemic have been a dominating theme in this year's presidential race. That has overshadowed debate over how to handle the nation's drug overdose crisis, which has contributed to the deaths… Continue reading