Many blame the agency's earlier guidance for suffering and even suicide risk among chronic pain patients. Critics say the updated advice may not fix the problem.
New research shows drug overdose deaths continue to surge among Black Americans. For the first time since 1999, Black Americans are dying at a higher rate per capita than white Americans.
Thursday on Political Rewind: William Cope Moyers has sought to help others struggling with addiction by telling the story of his road to recovery. Public health officials are also struggling to address a new surge in overdose deaths in the United States.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is rolling out a new plan to slow drug deaths, which he says will include controversial measures such as clean needles and fentanyl test strips.
Newly published U.S. data finds overdose deaths from methamphetamine use more than doubled in recent years. Use of the stimulant among Black Americans surged nearly tenfold.
Psychiatrist Anna Lembke's new book explores the brain's connection between pleasure and pain. It also helps explain addictions — not just to drugs and alcohol, but also to food, sex and smartphones.
ER doctors wanted to hospitalize the young man to help ease his withdrawal from opioid dependence. But he declined because he couldn't afford it. His mom says no one told him he had financial options.
The Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Association is awarding nearly $600,000 in grant money to the Georgia Council on Substance Abuse. Part of the money will be used for the “Georgia Recovers” billboard campaign. GPB’s Ellen Eldridge reports on the council’s work to reduce stigma associated with substance use disorder.
For years, people who used drugs were treated like criminals, often given long sentences. Now there's growing acceptance that addiction is a treatable disease, but shame and discrimination linger.
Oregon's bold move to decriminalize small amounts of all hard drugs and expand treatment is now meeting the reality of implementation as the treatment community is divided over the way forward.
The nation's top addiction scientist has teamed up with a prominent artist to let people know that substance use disorder is a disease, not a moral failure.
Researchers say cocaine, meth and other street drugs are increasingly contaminated with deadly synthetic opioids, contributing to a major spike in deaths.
Derek Chauvin's defense has suggested George Floyd's drug use might have made him more "volatile" and unpredictable, justifying the use of force. Critics say Floyd needed health care and compassion.
Black Americans with addiction face "pervasive and continuing systemic racism" and often struggle to gain access to treatments that prevent fatal overdoses.
Many drug rehab programs use aggressive sales techniques, price-gouge patients and provide substandard care. The system often pushes people struggling with addiction into debt, but not recovery.
