RENO, Nev. (AP) — A 51-year-old Nevada doctor faces a maximum of up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to illegally distribute opioids.
His sentencing is the culmination of a months-long criminal trial that resulted in the first successful prosecution of pharmaceutical executives tied to the opioid epidemic.
Four defendants, including three big U.S. distributors, have struck a deal with Summit and Cuyahoga counties. It doesn't resolve thousands of other lawsuits filed against the firms across the U.S.
Dr. Joel Smithers was convicted in May of more than 800 federal counts of illegal drug distribution. He was facing life in prison and a $200 million fine. The court ordered him to pay $86,000.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah man has been found guilty of running a multimillion-dollar opioid ring that sent hundreds of thousands of potentially deadly pills across the country from his suburban basement.
The $572 million judgment against Johnson & Johnson will cover one year of addiction treatment and prevention the judge says. But health economists predict it will take decades to abate the problem.
The U.S. government has doled out at least $2.4 billion in state grants since 2017, specifically targeting the opioid epidemic. Yet drug abuse problems seldom involve only one substance.
The maker of a highly addictive fentanyl-based drug wants to sell its assets to pay some $250 million in debts. The move could let the company out of part of the settlement deal reached last week.
The National Sheriffs' Association has published a detailed guide to jail-based medication-assisted treatment. States hardest hit by opioids are moving fastest to get inmates the help needed to quit.
Police officers administered CPR after arriving at a home in Chico, California, where the drug overdose occurred. Four people are in critical condition.
Across the state, volunteers in Pennsylvania distributed naloxone on Thursday. The drug reverses the effects of opioid overdose. The giveaway was part of a state plan to combat the opioid epidemic.
More than 50 Massachusetts schools are participating in a new program that brings counselors in to help children deal with the stress and trauma of living in families struggling with drug addiction.
As illegal meth use has made a comeback across the U.S., pregnant women have not been spared, doctors say. New research shows rural areas in the South, Midwest and West have been hit hardest.
Critics, including some leading anesthesiologists, say the drug is unnecessary, and they worry it will be diverted and abused. The Food And Drug Administration says it is addressing safety concerns.
Within days of an OD from opioids or other drugs, users in Huntington, W.Va., are visited by a quick-response team at home, the hospital or in jail. Reversing an OD is just recovery's first step.
The overdose antidote naloxone could soon be available in more public places. The Veterans Administration is adding it to its automated defibrillator cabinets. Other institutions are following suit.
Evidence shows the drugs methadone and buprenorphine can help people recover from opioid use disorder by reducing withdrawal symptoms and cravings. So why do many sobriety facilities ban their use?
As marijuana gains popularity among people 65 and older, geriatricians call for more research on how it affects elderly patients. Shifts in metabolism as we age can intensify any drug's side effects.
Author Beth Macy details opioids' odyssey from medicine to scourge, in her book about young heroin users, their long-suffering parents, doctors, drug company executives, cops, judges and drug dealers.
A pediatrician is working to make sure every hospital in Kansas can give babies with neonatal abstinence syndrome the soft start they need, ideally right next to their mothers.
The rollout of the first lady's policy initiative was delayed by her illness and hospitalization in May, but the White House says she'll be making more appearances in the weeks to come.
