Main menu

Search

Listen

News 88.9 KNPR
Classical 89.7 KCNV
NV89 Discover Music
'Jazz'
Podcasts view all

an member station

Subscribe to opioid crisis

opioid crisis

NPR
National
Teva Pharmaceuticals has reached a settlement with the state of Oklahoma over its alleged role in fueling the opioid epidemic. In March, drugmaker Purdue Pharma agreed to a $270 million settlement.

Teva Pharmaceuticals Agrees To $85 Million Settlement With Oklahoma In Opioid Case

May 26, 2019
Oklahoma's attorney general had filed a lawsuit against the Israel-based company for its alleged role in fueling the opioid crisis.
KNPR
Newscast headlines

AG Ford Hires Eglet Prince Law Firm In Opioid Lawsuit

Apr 24, 2019

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford’s office will hire the law firm Eglet Prince to represent the state in a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and producers.

In January, state legislators approved Ford’s office to pursue outside legal help in the lawsuit.

NPR
Law
Former Rochester Drug Co-Operative CEO Laurence Doud III, facing criminal charges stemming from the opioid crisis, leaves the federal courthouse in Manhattan on Tuesday.

Drug Distributor And Former Execs Face First Criminal Charges In Opioid Crisis

Apr 23, 2019
A DEA official said the indictments are meant to send "shock waves" through the pharmaceutical industry to remind it of its responsibility to help control prescription medications.
NPR
Business

Opioid Maker Charged With Fraud In Marketing Drug As Less Prone To Abuse

Apr 09, 2019
British drug maker Indivior faces felony charges after allegedly trying to falsely convince doctors that its opioid products were safer than cheaper generic alternatives.
NPR
Asia
Liu Yuejin of China's National Narcotics Control Commission speaks at a Beijing press conference on Monday. He announced that all fentanyl-related drugs will become controlled substances, effective May 1.

China To Close Loophole On Fentanyl After U.S. Calls For Opioid Action

Apr 01, 2019
Some manufacturers evaded scrutiny by slightly modifying the molecular structures of substances. Monday's announcement "puts a wider array of substances under regulation," a Chinese official says.
NPR
Shots - Health News
Purdue Pharma, headquartered in Stamford, Conn., the Sackler family, which owns the company, settled a case brought by the Oklahoma attorney general.

Purdue Pharma Agrees To $270 Million Opioid Settlement With Oklahoma

Mar 26, 2019
The maker of OxyContin will pay to settle a historic opioid lawsuit brought by the attorney general of Oklahoma. Will other drugmakers named in the lawsuit follow?
NPR
Europe
"We fully respect and support the Sackler family's decision," says a spokesperson for the National Portrait Gallery in central London, after a gift was withdrawn. Members of the Sackler family are accused of pursuing profits on OxyContin amid an opioid c

Sackler Family's Donation To British Museum Is Quashed Over Opioid Fallout

Mar 20, 2019
The U.K.'s National Portrait Gallery and the Sackler family — owners of the company that makes OxyContin — say they're concerned that allegations of profiteering could overshadow the gift.
NPR
Shots - Health News
Graphic facilitator Emily Jane Steinberg rendered a visual summary in real time of the conversation at an opioid summit held in Stroud, Okla., in late February.

Commentary: Can Oklahoma Eliminate Overdose Deaths?

Mar 08, 2019
While there's been progress in lowering the death rate from prescription opioids in Oklahoma, the number of opioid prescriptions written in the state outpaces the national average.
KNPR
Newscast headlines

Report: Pilot Opioid Use A Cause In Nevada Plane Crash

Mar 06, 2019
RENO (AP) — Opioid abuse by the pilot was among the likely causes of a fatal airplane crash in Nevada that killed the pilot and his two passengers, the National Transportation Safety Board has said.
 
The Reno Gazette-Journal reported Tuesday that the agency names the likely
KNPR
Newscast headlines

Rural Nevada Hospital Exec Guilty Of Opioid Charges

Feb 07, 2019

WINNEMUCCA, Nev. (AP) — A senior doctor at a rural hospital in northern Nevada has pleaded guilty to writing illegal prescriptions for narcotics including opioids without a medical purpose.

KNPR
Newscast headlines

Utah House Passed Bill To Study Opioid Overdoses

Feb 05, 2019

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Utah House has passed a proposal to create a committee to review drug overdose deaths.

KNPR
Newscast headlines

Nevada AG Gets Approval To Hire Firm To Sue Opioid Makers

Feb 01, 2019

 

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — The Nevada attorney general's office has received clearance to hire a law firm to sue opioid manufacturers.

NPR
Shots - Health News
A highly potent synthetic opioid, fentanyl is often mixed in to other drugs sold on the street, including pills, heroin and even cocaine.

Fentanyl Surpasses Heroin As Drug Most Often Involved In Deadly Overdoses

Dec 12, 2018
When fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine, infiltrated the drug supply in the U.S. it had an immediate, dramatic effect on the overdose rate.
NPR
National
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said the state has added CVS and Walgreens to a lawsuit because they had not stopped suspicious orders of opioids and had dispensed unreasonable quantities of the drugs.

Florida Sues Walgreens, CVS For Alleged Role In Opioid Crisis

Nov 19, 2018
State Attorney General Pam Bondi's office announced Friday that it had added the drugstore chains to a lawsuit filed in May against opioid distributors and manufacturers.
NPR
Shots - Health News

Forum: The Health And Economic Concerns Of Rural Americans

Nov 09, 2018
Join us for a live discussion of major issues facing rural America, based on a recent poll by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
NPR
Shots - Health News
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, testifying before a House subcommittee in May. There are "very tight restrictions" being placed on the distribution and use of Dsuvia, Gottlieb said Friday in addressing the FDA's approval of the

Despite Warnings, FDA Approves Potent New Opioid Painkiller

Nov 02, 2018
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.
NPR
Shots - Health News
Among at least some rural Americans, pragmatism may now be superseding traditional disdain for government and the prizing of rugged individualism.

Rural Americans Are OK With 'Outside' Help To Beat Opioid Crisis And Boost Economy

Oct 25, 2018
Despite a reputation for being suspicious of government and outsiders, some rural residents now say state funds are needed to help fix the big economic and drug problems faced by small towns.
NPR
Shots - Health News
Anthony Dooley, 32, successfully graduated from an addiction recovery program recently. He credits Cox's team with visiting him in the hospital and walking him through his options.

Knocking On Doors To Get Opioid Overdose Survivors Into Treatment

Oct 24, 2018
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.
NPR
Health
Nine-year-old Gabriella Santamaria holds up a picture of her uncle Stephen who died from a heroin overdose during a 2017 candlelight vigil for victims of drug addiction in Staten Island.

Opioid Deaths May Be Starting To Plateau, HHS Chief Says

Oct 24, 2018
Overdose deaths started to level off near the end of 2017 and are "finally bending in the right direction," says Alex Azar, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, citing early data.
NPR
National
Bridgewater State University campus police Detective Sergeant Robert McEvoy led the effort to place "Opiod Overdose Kits," containing the overdose reversal drug Narcan, to more than 70 locations on campus, including outdoor parking lots like this one.

On College Campuses, Making Overdose Medication Readily Available

Oct 22, 2018
College campuses are growing increasingly concerned about how to keep students safe amid a national opioid crisis. Some schools provide free and easy access to drugs that can reverse an overdose.
KNPR
Newscast headlines

USDOJ Awards $1.7M To Reno To Address Opioids, Gun Violence

Oct 11, 2018

RENO, Nev. (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department has awarded the Reno Police Department a pair of grants totaling nearly $1.7 million to help combat opioid abuse and reduce gun violence.

KNPR
Newscast headlines

FBI Changing Las Vegas Billboard Campaign To Highlight Opioids

Oct 11, 2018

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The FBI in Las Vegas is replacing billboards seeking tips about human trafficking with signs seeking information about illegal and prescription distribution of opioid painkillers.

KNPR
Newscast headlines

City Of Las Vegas Votes To File Lawsuit Against Opioid Makers

Aug 02, 2018

The Las Vegas City Council voted Wednesday to file a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers.

NPR
Here & Now Compass
An arrangement of pills of the opioid oxycodone-acetaminophen, also known as Percocet, in New York. A new report finds a link between workforce participation and the prescription rate of opioids in the U.S.

How The Opioid Crisis Is Depressing America's Labor Force

Jun 18, 2018
The U.S. lags behind other countries in workforce participation because more opioids are prescribed in this country, says a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
KNPR
Newscast headlines

House Passes Legislation To Address Opioid Abuse At Work

Jun 14, 2018

The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed legislation, co-sponsored by Nevada Congresswoman Jacky Rosen, that would establish an Advisory Committee on Opioids and the Workplace.

Pages

Our Partners PRXNPRAPMBBCPRI NONCOM