Apr 17 Southern states slowly embracing harm reduction to curb opioid epidemic By Max Blau, Stateline In the Bible Belt, many Southerners who held conservative views often criticized harm reduction as something that encouraged — not ended — the use of drugs. But attitudes have shifted. Continue reading
Apr 04 Oklahoma drops some claims in lawsuit against opioid manufacturers By Tim Talley, Associated Press The state attorney general's office will continue to pursue allegations that the drugmakers created a public nuisance, which he says is the most important allegation against the drugmakers. Continue reading
Mar 28 Watch 6:16 What New York state’s lawsuit against Purdue Pharma says about U.S. opioid battle More than 400,000 people in the U.S. have died from opioid use in the past two decades. As the country tries to contain the crisis, many states and cities are challenging the drug manufacturers in court. The latest lawsuit, brought… Continue watching
Mar 26 Oklahoma settles with maker of OxyContin over opioid crisis By Ken Miller, Geoff Mulvihill, Associated Press The maker of the powerful prescription painkiller OxyContin has reached a settlement with the state of Oklahoma over its role in the nation's deadly opioid crisis, officials said Tuesday. The terms were not immediately disclosed. Continue reading
Feb 08 Watch 9:36 This grieving family wants pharmaceutical companies held accountable for opioid deaths An estimated 400,000 Americans have died as a result of opioid use. But grieving families say the national response to the health crisis is inadequate. In her coverage of the epidemic, Associated Press reporter Claire Galofaro profiled Cheryl Juaire, who… Continue watching
Feb 01 Purdue Pharma family sought to profit off opioid crisis, filing alleges By Alanna Durkin, Geoff Mulvihill, Associated Press While aggressively marketing OxyContin, the Sackler family also sought to profit off the drug abuse crisis its company helped create by exploring selling drugs used to treat addiction and reverse overdoses, state lawyers contend in previously secret parts of their… Continue reading
Jan 20 Watch 8:09 Behind Purdue Pharma’s marketing of OxyContin In June, the state of Massachusetts filed a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma, which manufactures the prescription painkiller OxyContin, alleging that the family controlled-company misled patients about the dangers of the opioid drug. Now, new details about the company’s marketing strategy… Continue watching
Jan 07 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. Continue reading
Jan 01 Watch 7:06 Will drug companies be held accountable for America’s opioid epidemic? The nation’s opioid crisis was declared a public health emergency in 2017 and received new funding this past October. But rampant addiction led to some 40,000 overdose deaths in the U.S. last year, and 2019 could see the culmination of… Continue watching
Nov 02 Heroin, fentanyl remain among nation’s greatest drug threats, federal report says By Michael Balsamo, Associated Press But federal officials are concerned that methamphetamine and cocaine are being seen at much higher levels in areas that haven't historically been hotspots for those drugs. Continue reading