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
Jun 02 Prince died of an opioid overdose, autopsy reveals By Corinne Segal An autopsy shows that singer and musician Prince died of an opioid overdose at his studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota, on April 21, the Associated Press reported. Continue reading
May 23 Opioid treatment at Rikers Island is a long-standing success, but few jails adopt it By Christine Vestal, Stateline NEW YORK — For Dr. Ross MacDonald, every person who enters New York City’s main jail with an opioid addiction represents an opportunity for treatment, and the possibility of saving a life. As the medical director of the city’s correctional… Continue reading
Apr 06 Rethinking the use of medication in opioid addiction treatment By Anna Gorman, Kaiser Health News Drug treatment providers in California and elsewhere have relied for decades on abstinence and therapy to treat addicts. In recent years, they’ve turned to medication. Continue reading
Mar 29 Obama turns attention to growing opioid abuse problem By Kevin Freking, Associated Press The trajectory of opioid deaths in the United States is trending in the wrong direction, President Barack Obama said Tuesday. Continue reading
Mar 27 Watch 1:41 Tennessee discontinues controversial fetal assault law By PBS News Hour Tennessee representatives voted to discontinue a controversial law that explicitly allowed prosecutors to charge a mother with fetal assault for using drugs while pregnant. NewsHour's Megan Thompson reports. Continue watching
Mar 12 Watch 7:49 Detoxing after delivery: When babies are born withdrawing from opioids By Saskia de Melker, Melanie Saltzman The number of American babies born going through withdrawal from prescription painkillers and heroin used by their mothers during pregnancy, a condition called Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, increased fivefold between 2000 and 2012. NewsHour's Alison Stewart explores the consequences of the… Continue watching
Feb 23 Watch 8:07 State governments strive to curb epidemic of fatal opioid abuse By PBS News Hour Abuse of opioids such as heroin, oxycontin and methadone led to 28,000 deaths last year, according to federal agencies. Many states are taking steps to combat the epidemic, but proposed solutions have attracted their own share of controversy and criticism. Continue watching
Jan 27 Will red and blue lawmakers clear a path for a heroin abuse bill? By Alan Fram, Associated Press WASHINGTON — In a testy election year likely to see scant collaboration between Republicans and Democrats, there's a glint of hope in Congress for a bipartisan bill aimed at fighting heroin and opioid addiction — a deadly, growing problem that… Continue reading
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