Dec 27 Watch 8:42 This West Virginia school is caring for students, when addicted parents can’t By PBS News Hour In opioid-stricken West Virginia, this school is taking on the role of parent. Lisa Stark of Education Week visits Cottageville Elementary, where students often lack food, clothes and transportation because of drug-addicted parents. In addition to increasing communication with local… Continue watching
Dec 20 Heroin deaths soar compared to other opioids, new study shows By Laura Santhanam Government researchers dove into death certificate data to uncover what drugs are most commonly associated with overdose deaths in the United States. These deaths are on the rise, and heroin is becoming a primarily culprit. Continue reading
Nov 27 House to vote on bill aimed at speeding approval of drugs By Associated Press The House plans to vote Wednesday on a $6.3 billion bill aimed at speeding federal approval of drugs and medical devices and boosting biomedical research. Continue reading
Oct 31 Discrimination persists against patients with mental illness and addiction, panel says By Jenny Gold, Kaiser Health News The long-awaited report is the product of a task force President Barack Obama announced in March during a speech about the opioid epidemic. Continue reading
Oct 07 These states are struggling with a drug addiction-fueled crisis in foster care By Teresa Wiltz, Stateline In many states in the East and parts of the Midwest, addiction to opioid painkillers and heroin is helping to drive the crisis in foster care. In other parts of the Midwest and in the West, abuse of methamphetamines is. Continue reading
Oct 06 Watch 4:51 How drug companies helped drive the opioid crisis By PBS News Hour The abuse of opioids has become a major public health concern; more than 28,000 people died by overdose in 2014. According to reporting by STAT News, drug companies downplayed the addictive effects of opioid drugs in the late 1990s, assuring… Continue watching
Aug 17 Watch 2:28 News Wrap: Turkey releasing inmates to make room for coup arrests By PBS News Hour In our news wrap Wednesday, Turkey announced plans to release nearly 40,000 prison inmates to clear space for a similar number detained over last month’s coup attempt. Depending on their remaining sentences, prisoners may qualify for early release, although the… Continue watching
Aug 17 White House announces $17 million to curb opioid use By Associated Press WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has announced that it will spend $17 million to help law enforcement agencies deal with the increase in heroin and opioid abuse. Continue reading
Aug 01 Opioid dependence leads to ‘tsunami’ of medical services, study finds By Julie Appleby, Kaiser Health News In one of the first looks at privately insured patients with opioid problems, researchers paint a grim picture: Medical services for people with opioid dependence diagnoses skyrocketed more than 3,000 percent between 2007 and 2014. Continue reading
Jul 24 Montana’s ‘pain refugees’ leave the state to get prescribed opioids By Corin Cates-Carney, Montana Public Radio On a recent night, three Montana residents, who call themselves pain refugees, boarded an airplane from Missoula to Los Angeles. Continue reading