Jul 22 Government hospitals put Native Americans at opioid risk, audit says By Felicia Fonseca, Associated Press A federal audit has found hospitals run by the Indian Health Service failed to follow their own protocols for prescribing and dispensing the drugs… Continue reading
Jul 18 Louvre Museum removes Sackler name after opioid protests By Associated Press At the Louvre's Oriental Antiquities gallery, tape is covering multiple placards bearing the name that has long been associated with arts patronage around the world. Continue reading
Jul 17 Number of U.S. overdose deaths appears to be falling By Mike Stobbe, Associated Press Overdose deaths had been climbing each year since 1990, topping 70,000 in 2017. Continue reading
Jun 18 Suicide among teens and young adults reaches highest level since 2000 By Gretchen Frazee, Patty Gorena Morales Researchers are not certain what is causing the increase, but advocates say there are a number of steps people can take to help prevent suicide. Continue reading
May 16 5 states announce new lawsuits over prescription opioids By Anthony Izaguirre, Geoff Mulvihill, Associated Press With the suits, 45 states are now taking legal action against OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, asserting that the company downplayed the addiction risks of its powerful prescription drug. Continue reading
May 02 Jury says drug firm founder guilty of bribing doctors to push opioid By Alanna Durkin Richer, Associated Press A pharmaceutical company founder accused of bribing doctors across the U.S. to prescribe a highly addictive fentanyl spray was convicted Thursday in a case that exposed such marketing tactics as using a stripper-turned-sales-rep to give a physician a lap dance. Continue reading
May 01 Desperate to prevent opioid overdoses, states urge greater prescription of naloxone By Christine Vestal, Stateline In an effort to reduce opioid overdoses, a handful of states are requiring doctors to give, or at least offer, a prescription for naloxone to patients taking high doses of opioid painkillers. Naloxone saves lives by reversing the effects of… Continue reading
Apr 24 WATCH: Trump, first lady speak at drug abuse summit in Atlanta President Donald Trump said his administration has secured $6 billion in federal dollars over two years to fight opioid abuse, but the epidemic won't be solved overnight. Opioid abuse claimed nearly 48,000 American lives in 2017. Continue reading
Apr 23 Ex-CEO is first drug exec indicted in opioid crisis, U.S. Attorney says By Michael R. Sisak, Associated Press The indictment unsealed Tuesday alleges former Rochester Drug Co-Operative CEO Laurence Doud III ordered subordinates to ignore red flags about certain pharmacy customers to maximize company revenues and his own pay, which more than doubled between 2012 and 2016 as… Continue reading
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