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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
One out of five Americans say they personally know someone who has been addicted to opioids or prescription painkillers, according to a new report about the economic well-being of U.S. households.
The pop superstar was treated for an overdose a week before his death. The suit contends that the hospital failed to realize the drug he was taking was a deadly counterfeit.
The powerful opioid fentanyl is showing up in batches of cocaine, threatening a new wave of opioid overdoses. Some doctors, drug users and law enforcement wonder if the contamination is deliberate.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — State health officials say Utah pharmacies dispensed thousands of doses of the rescue medication used to reverse the effects of opioid overdoses.
Economists tracking federal mortality data say the opioid crisis is undercutting the productivity of people in their prime working years — 30s and 40s.
Opioids are a public health emergency, Donald Trump says, but he hasn't acted on the White House opioid commission's recommendations to expand treatment.
