Jul 22 Watch 9:29 How the pandemic is complicating America’s addiction crisis By William Brangham, Mike Fritz According to preliminary data, drug overdoses killed nearly 72,000 Americans in 2019, a record high. Now, it appears that 2020 is on track to be even worse, as the U.S. has witnessed a startling rise in overdoses during the pandemic. Continue watching
Feb 11 What New Hampshire voters want to hear about opioids from 2020 Democrats By Amanda Latimore, The Conversation America’s opioid crisis has hit New Hampshire hard, creating an epidemic of overdoses and addiction-related health issues in the early primary state. Continue reading
Feb 03 Walgreens to pay $7.5M in settlement over alleged phony pharmacist By Associated Press Prosecutors say Le used the license numbers of registered pharmacists in order to dispense prescriptions at Walgreens stores in the San Francisco Bay Area. They allegedly included prescriptions for fentanyl, morphine and codeine. Continue reading
Jan 24 Watch 10:31 Drug company executives face prison time for role in opioid epidemic By William Brangham Thursday, several executives at Insys Therapeutics were sentenced to prison for a bribery scheme that paid doctors to prescribe the company’s lucrative and addictive painkiller. These sentences are a landmark moment in the push to hold drug makers accountable for… Continue watching
Dec 17 11 senators ask Purdue Pharma not to give CEO a bonus By Associated Press The letter comes as OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma goes through bankruptcy and tries to settle 2,700 lawsuits over the opioid crisis… Continue reading
Dec 17 Michigan sues opioid distributors, likens to drug dealers By David Eggert, Associated Press The companies each distributed more than 10% of the opioids sent to pharmacies nationwide from 2006 to 2012. Continue reading
Dec 03 Watch 6:50 What newly released emails reveal about OxyContin, Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family The U.S. opioid epidemic has taken hundreds of thousands of lives. A reckoning for the manufacturers, marketers and distributors of these drugs has now begun -- but despite several multibillion dollar settlements, some states and municipalities say accountability and transparency… Continue watching
Nov 27 Watch 6:49 News Wrap: Major storms disrupt Thanksgiving travel In our news wrap Wednesday, a major storm dumped heavy snow across the Midwest, disrupting travel on the day before Thanksgiving. As much as a foot fell in some places, delaying flights at Chicago O’Hare, while a separate system slammed… Continue watching
Nov 26 Trump donates his 3rd-quarter salary to fight the opioid epidemic By Associated Press President Donald Trump has given the $100,000 he would be paid in the quarter to the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health, which oversees federal public health offices and program. Continue reading
Nov 15 Oklahoma judge reduces J&J order in opioid lawsuit by $107 million By Sean Murphy, Ken Miller, Associated Press An Oklahoma judge who last summer ordered consumer products giant Johnson & Johnson to pay $572 million to help address the state’s opioid crisis on Friday reduced that amount by $107 million in a final order in the case. Continue reading