People in recovery from opioid or alcohol addiction are weathering a new storm of depression, anxiety and isolation these days, as 12-step programs move online and detox centers close their doors.
In Getting Wrecked: Women, Incarceration, and the American Opioid Crisis, aRikers Island doctor says drug treatment in U.S. jails and prisons is often shaped by societal prejudice, not science.
Washington Post journalist Scott Higham says recently released evidence shows the drug industry purposely shipped big quantities of opioids to communities without regard for how they were being used.
It can be hard enough finding a doctor who prescribes buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid addiction. But patients also report difficulty with pharmacies that refuse to stock the drug.
The Affordable Care Act and other U.S. laws sought to put insurance coverage for mental health conditions on equal footing with coverage for physical conditions. But patients say that's not happening.
Overdose deaths involving fentanyl are rising — up 113 percent on average each year from 2013 to 2016. Dealers are adding cheap fentanyl to the illicit drug supply, and some users get it accidentally.
An overdose is a wake-up call for many people with addiction. So why aren't patients being offered medications that could keep them from looking for the next dangerous hit of drugs?
