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opioid addiction

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KNPR's State of Nevada
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Community leaders work to combat opioid addiction in Nevada

Mar 10, 2022

More than 20 years ago, in 1999, the rate of people who died of drug overdoses in Nevada and its neighboring state of California were roughly the same.

Then things began to change.

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NPR
Shots - Health News

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

Dec 30, 2021
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.
NPR
Shots - Health News
Louise Vincent, executive director of the North Carolina Survivors Union, holds a vial of the overdose reversal drug naloxone. "Almost everyone that comes here is alive because of naloxone," Vincent says.

To save lives, overdose antidote should be sold over-the-counter, advocates argue

Dec 14, 2021
With opioid overdoses surging, harm-reduction groups are calling on the FDA to change naloxone's prescription-only status. This would make it easier to get the lifesaving drug to people at risk.
NPR
National
Betsy, played by Kaitlyn Dever, and Dr. Samuel Finnix, Michael Keaton, discuss her first Oxy prescription for back pain from a workplace injury.

So you've watched 'Dopesick'. Here's what you can do to help ease the opioid crisis

Nov 18, 2021
The Hulu series Dopesick depicts the start of the opioid addiction crisis in the U.S. As the crisis continues to grow, here's how you can help those affected in your community.
NPR
National
Bridget, played by Rosario Dawson, in the field investigating pill mills in a recent episode of Hulu's "Dopesick."

'Dopesick' casts the Sacklers as villains of the opioid crisis. Reality is complex

Nov 12, 2021
Hulu's limited series Dopesick provides a cathartic piece of storytelling for those with connections to the opioid crisis.
NPR
Shots - Health News
Suboxone and a similar medicine, Subutex, are both proven to help people with opioid addiction stay in recovery. Yet the Drug Enforcement Administration often makes it hard for pharmacies to dispense it.

DEA takes aggressive stance toward pharmacies trying to dispense addiction medicine

Nov 08, 2021
A West Virginia pharmacist wanted to help those hit by the opioid crisis. But a few years after he began providing medications to treat addiction, drug enforcement raided his pharmacy.
NPR
Television
Hulu's limited series<strong> </strong>is based in part on material from the nonfiction book <em>Dopesick</em> by journalist Beth Macy, who has written extensively about the opioid crisis. Rosario Dawson stars as Bridget Meyer.

Is 'Dopesick' a true story? Experts and the show's creators sort fact from fiction

Nov 08, 2021
NPR addiction correspondent Brian Mann and TV critic Eric Deggans joined Dopesick author Beth Macy and showrunner Danny Strong to discuss the inspiration for the show and just how real it is.
NPR
National
Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra said the overdose epidemic has grown so severe, new measures are needed to keep people with addiction alive. He is seen here on Capitol Hill in September.

The Biden team is scrambling to slow a crushing wave of drug overdose deaths

Oct 27, 2021
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.
NPR
Shots - Health News
New research shows racial disparities in opioid overdose rates, with the rate of deaths among Blacks growing faster than in other groups. The researchers are calling for expanding access to drug treatment and to education on how to prevent overdoses usin

Black Opioid Deaths Increase Faster Than Whites, Spurring Calls For Treatment Equity

Sep 10, 2021
Black communities face a growing share of overdoses, but addiction treatment resources and attention are still focused on white communities.
NPR
National
Researchers point to a devastating new development: Fentanyl is making swift inroads in the western U.S., where it used to be rare.

Street Fentanyl Surges In Western U.S., Leading To Thousands Of Deaths

Nov 17, 2020
New research shows the use of the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl spreading fast in Los Angeles, Phoenix and Seattle. Chinese companies are routing the street drug through cartels in Mexico.
NPR
National
The federal government estimates one in 10 healthcare workers experience substance use disorder. There is rising concern that medical professionals are stealing powerful opioid pain medications meant for their patients.

Some Health Workers Suffering From Addiction Steal Drugs Meant For Patients

Oct 05, 2020
The Drug Enforcement Agency relies on hospitals to identify nurses and doctors who misuse drugs such as morphine and fentanyl. But "only a fraction of those who are diverting drugs are ever caught."
NPR
Shots - Health News

To Stop Deadly Overdoses, 'The Opioid Fix' Urges Better Use Of Tools We Already Have

Jul 21, 2020
Early data suggest the pandemic may be driving up overdoses. Author Barbara Andraka-Christou says the solution to the addiction crisis is right before us: Improve access to life-saving medication.
NPR
Shots - Health News
A January report found that 40% of U.S. counties don't have a single health care provider approved to prescribe buprenorphine, a medicine integral to helping many patients beat opioid addiction. Permitting more-distant doctors to evaluate patients online

Coronavirus Crisis Spurs Access To Online Treatment For Opioid Addiction

Apr 20, 2020
The federal government has waived a law that required an in-person doctor's visit before patients could be prescribed drugs that quell withdrawal symptoms. That's a boon for patients, counselors say.
NPR
Shots - Health News
Ethan Howard was among 235 people in the southern Indiana community of Austin, Ind., to be infected with HIV in an outbreak that hit in 2015. It was fueled by injection drug use.

5 Years After Indiana's Historic HIV Outbreak, Many Rural Places Remain At Risk

Feb 16, 2020
Fewer than a third of the 220 counties deemed by the federal government as vulnerable to similar outbreaks have active syringe exchange programs which can stop the spread of the infection.
NPR
Shots - Health News

A Widow, Not A Wife: 'Smacked' Explores An Ex-Husband's Secret Addiction

Feb 04, 2020
Eilene Zimmerman didn't learn of her ex-husband's addiction to cocaine and opioids until after his death. "This had happened in front of us, and we hadn't recognized it," she says.
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NPR
Law
Insys Therapeutics founder John Kapoor was convicted in a bribery and kickback scheme that prosecutors said helped fuel the opioid crisis.

Pharmaceutical Executive John Kapoor Sentenced To 66 Months In Prison In Opioid Trial

Jan 23, 2020
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.
NPR
Shots - Health News
Dr. Angela Gatzke-Plamann is the only full-time physician in Necedah, Wis., and the only physician in Juneau County, Wis., who has the required training to prescribe the addiction medicine buprenorphine.

In Rural Areas Without Pain Or Addiction Specialists, Family Doctors Fill In The Gaps

Dec 30, 2019
In rural America, chronic pain and opioid addiction are common, but treatment is often harder to come by. In the village of Necedah, Wis., population 916, one doctor is changing that.
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NPR
Shots - Health News
The MX908 can check for the presence of fentanyl mixed with other drugs and such testing may help prevent overdoses. Sarah Mackin of the Boston Public Health Commission prepares the machine for testing some samples.

Built For Counterterrorism, This High-Tech Machine Is Now Helping Fight Fentanyl

Nov 27, 2019
Public health officials are adopting a law-enforcement tool, the mass spectrometer, to instantly identify potentially deadly levels of opioids in local drug supplies.
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NPR
Shots - Health News
An infant is monitored for opioid withdrawal in a neonatal intensive care unit at the CAMC Women and Children's Hospital in Charleston, W.Va., in June. Infants exposed to opioids in utero often experience symptoms of withdrawal.

In The Fight For Money For The Opioid Crisis, Will The Youngest Victims Be Left Out?

Nov 22, 2019
The opioid epidemic is intergenerational, with tens of thousands of babies born every year dependent on opioids. Advocates worry lawsuits against the drug industry might overlook these children.
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NPR
Shots - Health News
The Bristol Regional Medical Center, now part of Ballad Health, was among hundreds of hospitals that have joined lawsuits against opioid makers.

Some Hospitals Sue Opioid Makers For Costs Of Treating Uninsured For Addiction

Oct 24, 2019
A few hundred hospitals have banded together to sue drugmakers in state courts, but far more are staying on the sidelines to avoid 'unflattering attention' about their role in the opioid crisis.
NPR
Shots - Health News
Sometimes doctors rapidly taper their chronic pain patients' opioid doses. Now a federal agency recommends against this.

Don't Force Patients Off Opioids Abruptly, New Guidelines Say, Warning Of Severe Risks

Oct 10, 2019
Researchers say chronic pain patients can feel suicidal or risk overdose when taken off medication too quickly. The warnings seek to course-correct after doctors felt pressured to taper drugs rapidly.
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NPR
Shots - Health News
Bags of heroin, some laced with fentanyl, picked up in a 2016 New York City drug bust. "Basically, [fentanyl] is so cheap to produce and it's so powerful, that drug dealers began realizing it was a way to increase their profits," <em>Fentanyl, Inc. </em>

Fentanyl As A Dark Web Profit Center, From Chinese Labs To U.S. Streets

Sep 04, 2019
Fentanyl, Inc. author Ben Westhoff says the opioid, while useful in hospitals, is killing more Americans as a street drug than any other in U.S. history. Here's how it moves from China to your corner.
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NPR
Shots - Health News
Judge Thad Balkman ruled that Johnson & Johnson is responsible for fueling Oklahoma's opioid crisis. He announced his decision in Norman, Okla., Monday.

Johnson & Johnson Ordered To Pay Oklahoma $572 Million In Opioid Trial

Aug 26, 2019
In a landmark ruling, Judge Thad Balkman ruled in favor of Oklahoma in its lawsuit to hold the drugmaker accountable for the costs of opioid addiction in the state.
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NPR
Shots - Health News
Judge Thad Balkman will rule Monday in the Johnson & Johnson opioid trial.

Oklahoma Judge To Rule In Landmark Opioid Case

Aug 26, 2019
Oklahoma has argued that the drugmaker's marketing of painkillers contributed to thousands of overdose deaths and other harms in the state and is asking for a multibillion-dollar award.
NPR
Shots - Health News

Addiction Clinics Market Unproven Infusion Treatments To Desperate Patients

Aug 22, 2019
Some addiction treatment clinics offer IV infusions of a mix of supplements — including something known as NAD. The treatment isn't proven to work and is not FDA-approved for addiction.
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