Oct 09 How a brain gets hooked on opioids By Nsikan Akpan, Julia Griffin Here is the neuroscience behind how opioids overtake the human brain. Continue reading
Oct 05 ‘Boosting’ to support her habit — one woman’s nightmare By Paul Solman As part of the NewsHour’s series on the opioid epidemic, Paul Solman interviewed Donna Dibo, a former addict who is participating in a jobs training program in Youngstown, Ohio. Dibo recalled her struggling with opioid addiction and its impact on… Continue reading
Sep 12 WATCH: McCaskill leads roundtable on role of drug manufacturers in the opioid crisis By Laura Santhanam Watch the discussion about what factors have fed the opioid crisis live starting at 11 a.m. Continue reading
Aug 29 Sessions: Drug overdoses ‘the top lethal issue’ in the U.S. By Ivan Moreno, Associated Press GREEN BAY, Wis. — Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday called drug overdose deaths "the top lethal issue" in the U.S. and urged law enforcement and social workers to "create and foster a culture that's hostile to drug use."… Continue reading
Aug 11 How a heroin addict tried to kick her habit in an opioid ‘treatment desert’ By Brian Rinker, Kaiser Health News When Heather Menzel arrived at the Bakersfield, California, bus station one day in February 2014, she hoped that the worst of her withdrawal was over and that a new life without heroin awaited. Continue reading
Aug 08 Column: How Big Pharma is hindering the fight against the opioid epidemic By Robin Feldman, The Conversation While opioids have become easier to obtain through illicit markets, a drug that could save countless lives has become increasingly out of reach. Continue reading
Jul 31 Almost half of all opioid misuse starts with a friend or family member’s prescription By Roni Dengler Easy access to prescriptions through friends and family facilitates more than half of the opioid misuse in the U.S., according to a survey of more than 50,000 adults. Continue reading
Jun 27 51 percent of opioid prescriptions go to people with depression and mood disorders By Catherine Caruso, STAT People with mood disorders are at increased risk of abusing opioids, and yet they received many more prescriptions than the general population, according to an analysis of data from 2011 and 2013. Continue reading
Jun 16 WATCH: Trump’s opioid commission launches new look at health crisis By Laura Santhanam https://youtu.be/dzg-WhYGSe4 New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says he never felt uncomfortable telling people about his mother’s lung cancer after she smoked cigarettes for decades. But he wonders if he would have been as open if she instead consumed heroin instead… Continue reading
May 26 Column: Close the postal system loophole that allows opioid shipments into the U.S. By Juliette Kayyem, STAT A loophole in the global postal system allows overseas dealers to mail opioids directly to Americans’ doorsteps, writes Juliette Kayyem, faculty director of the Homeland Security Project at the Harvard Kennedy School. Continue reading