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News Articles: opioid epidemic

A kit with naloxone is displayed at the South Jersey AIDS Alliance in Atlantic City, N.J. on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2014. An overdose of opiates essentially makes the body forget to breathe. Naloxone works by blocking the brain receptors that opiates latch onto and helping the body "remember" to take in air.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Fentanyl-related overdose deaths lead record-setting surge of more than 100K lives lost to drugs

While white Georgians ages 25 to 54 still account for most overdose deaths from opioids, fatalities among Black Georgians are climbing fast, up more than 250% since 2019, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.

May 11, 2022
|
By:
  • Ellen Eldridge
A person prepares heroin, placing a fentanyl test strip into the mixing container to check for contamination.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Georgia will no longer consider fentanyl test strips as drug paraphernalia

The strips that determine whether a substance contains fentanyl are currently considered paraphernalia in Georgia. That puts a life-saving tool in the same category as a syringe.

April 21, 2022
|
By:
  • Ellen Eldridge
Teresa Wren Johnston and Blake Schneider at Kennesaw State University's Center for Young Adult Addiction and Recovery.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Georgia could see $636 million to fight the opioid epidemic if this bill passes

Legislation to bar future lawsuits against the companies involved in a $26 billion multi-state settlement must be passed before the state can collect $636 million dollars. The money will help pay for preventing and addressing the effects of opioid dependence.

March 08, 2022
|
By:
  • Ellen Eldridge

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Limits on virtual addiction treatment may soon return, making care harder to access

A ban on using telemedicine to prescribe controlled medications was suspended in the pandemic. That's allowed many to seek opioid addiction treatment, but some worry about potential for abuse.

December 30, 2021
|
By:
  • Yuki Noguchi
McKesson, AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal Health have agreed to a $1.1 billion settlement with the state of New York over their alleged role in opioid distribution.

Tagged as: 

  • National

States Are Near A $26 Billion Opioid Settlement With Drug Distributors

Four big drug companies would pay out $26 billion to dozens of states over the next 17 years.

July 20, 2021
|
By:
  • Brian Mann
During the War on Drugs, the Brownsville neighborhood in New York City saw some of the highest rates of incarceration in the U.S., as Black and Hispanic men were sent to prison for lengthy prison sentences, often for low-level, nonviolent drug crimes.

Tagged as: 

  • National

After 50 Years Of The War On Drugs, 'What Good Is It Doing For Us?'

President Nixon called for an "all-out offensive" against drugs and addiction. The U.S. is now rethinking policies that led to mass incarceration and shattered families while drug deaths kept rising.

June 17, 2021
|
By:
  • Brian Mann
The Trump administration's decision to relax rules regarding the prescription of buprenorphine comes as record-level drug overdose deaths occurred in the U.S. in the 12 months ending in June 2020.

Tagged as: 

  • Medical Treatments

Trump Administration Will Let More Doctors Prescribe Drug To Fight Opioid Addiction

The change means that doctors will no longer need a special federal waiver in order to prescribe buprenorphine, a medication to treat opioid use disorder.

January 15, 2021
|
By:
  • Jaclyn Diaz and
  • Brian Mann
Nikil Saval, a newly elected Pennsylvania state senator, speaks in support of opening a "supervised injection site" for opioid users in Philadelphia during a Nov. 16 rally outside the federal courthouse.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

In Philadelphia, Judges Rule Against Opening 'Supervised' Site To Inject Opioids

A federal appeals court ruled the effort by nonprofit Safehouse to open a "supervised injection site" to prevent overdose deaths is laudable but illegal under the so-called federal crack house law.

January 14, 2021
|
By:
  • Nina Feldman
A statue of an angel in a graveyard

Tagged as: 

  • Health

CDC Reports Highest Number Of Drug Overdose Deaths Ever In A Year

More than 81,000 drug overdose deaths occurred in the United States in the 12 months ending in May 2020, the highest number of overdose deaths ever recorded in a 12-month period, according to recent provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

December 30, 2020
|
By:
  • Ellen Eldridge

Tagged as: 

  • World

'We Are Shipping To The U.S.': Inside China's Online Synthetic Drug Networks

China banned fentanyl last year, but an NPR investigation reveals how Chinese vendors continue to market the chemicals used to make the drug on e-commerce and social media sites.

November 17, 2020
|
By:
  • Emily Feng
Purdue Pharma headquarters in Stamford, Conn., in 2019. Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, and its owners, the Sackler family, have faced hundreds of lawsuits over the company's alleged role in the opioid epidemic that has killed more than 200,000 Americans.

Tagged as: 

  • National

Purdue Pharma Reaches $8B Opioid Deal With Justice Department Over OxyContin Sales

Critics say the settlement doesn't hold company executives or members of the Sackler family accountable for their aggressive marketing of OxyContin, which helped fuel the nation's opioid epidemic.

October 21, 2020
|
By:
  • Brian Mann
person leaning on wall with head in hands

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Emory, Hazelden Betty Ford Create Addiction Alliance Of Georgia

Phase 1 of the Addiction Alliance is to launch an intensive outpatient program in the Atlanta area and introduce a partial hospital program.

September 24, 2020
|
By:
  • Ellen Eldridge
an arm reflected in a broken mirror

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Fentanyl-Related Overdose Deaths Increase More Than 60% Since March

Fentanyl-related drug overdose deaths increased 61.4% since March, preliminary data show.

September 14, 2020
|
By:
  • Ellen Eldridge
A screenshot of Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Pooler) from his video for the "Stop Opioid Silence" campaign on Facebook with the Partnership for Drug Free Kids.

Facebook, Georgia Reps Share Videos To 'Stop Opioid Silence'

A campaign to raise awareness of opioid misuse and break the shame and stigma associated with addiction, is receiving help from five Georgia lawmakers....

January 03, 2020
|
By:
  • Ellen Eldridge
Dean Palozej poses with a photo of his son, Spencer, in Stafford, Conn. Spencer Palozej died of a fentanyl overdose in 2018.

Overdoses 2nd Leading Cause Of Death In Cobb County Last Year

Fatal drug overdoses in Cobb County dropped year over year according to new data, but officials aren’t comfortable calling the drop a trend. According...

July 11, 2019
|
By:
  • Ellen Eldridge
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