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McArthur, the county seat of Vinton County, Ohio, shown on April. 3, 2018. The county prosecutor says the pandemic has put additional strain on children who have parents addicted to drugs.

Ohio County Prosecutor: Pandemic Puts More Stress On Families Dealing With Addiction

Apr 29, 2020
Even though Vinton County, Ohio, hasn't had high infection rates of the coronavirus, social restrictions have made it harder to keep drug users and their children safe, says Trecia Kimes-Brown.
NPR
National
Ronda Goldfein, who leads the Philadelphia nonprofit Safehouse, says the group will open the first supervised injection site in the country next week over objections of the Department of Justice and some community members.

Philadelphia Nonprofit Opening Nation's First Supervised Injection Site Next Week

Feb 26, 2020
After a two-year legal saga, Safehouse says it will open next week, allowing users to administer illegal drugs under supervision. Federal officials say they will try to stop the site from opening.
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
National
Millions of Americans sank into addiction after using potent opioid painkillers, such as acetaminophen/oxycodone, that companies churned out and doctors freely prescribed over the past two decades.

In 2019, The Legal Fight Over Opioids Unraveled Into Confusion And Infighting

Dec 26, 2019
This was meant to be the year we answered a big question about the deadly opioid epidemic: Will drug companies that make and sell prescription pain medications be held liable? That clarity never came.
NPR
Law
Tufts University stripped the Sackler name from several of its buildings and divisions earlier this month, citing the billionaire family's role in the opioid crisis. The founders of Purdue Pharma have come under intense scrutiny for how their company mis

Sacklers Withdrew Nearly $11 Billion From Purdue As Opioid Crisis Mounted

Dec 17, 2019
According to a court filing Monday, the family pulled about $10.7 billion from Purdue since 2008 — ramping up withdrawals even after executives pleaded guilty to misleading regulators about OxyContin.
NPR
Shots - Health News
Cardinal Health was one of a handful of corporations to strike a last-minute settlement with two Ohio counties, to avoid the first major trial in the landmark federal litigation effort concerning the opioid health crisis.

Opioid Trial: 4 Companies Reach Tentative Settlement With Ohio Counties

Oct 21, 2019
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.
NPR
Business
Judge Thad Balkman holds a hearing Tuesday on his final judgment in the opioid lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson by the state of Oklahoma.

3 Major Drug Distributors Reportedly Negotiating $18B Opioid Settlement

Oct 15, 2019
A new study estimates that the opioid epidemic has cost the U.S. economy about $631 billion due to health care costs and the unrealized lifetime earnings of people who died of overdoses.
NPR
Shots - Health News
The overprescription of opioid pain medications such as these oxycodone pills has been blamed for an addiction epidemic in the U.S. — and has spurred a flurry of activity in American courts.

Your Guide To The Massive (And Massively Complex) Opioid Litigation

Oct 15, 2019
The largest-ever federal action related to the U.S. opioid crisis is on the cusp of its first trial next week — and it's complicated. So here's a brief(ish) explainer breaking it all down.
NPR
Law
Members of P.A.I.N. (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now) and Truth Pharm staged a protest on Thursday outside Purdue Pharma headquarters in Stamford, Conn., over its recent controversial opioid settlement.

New York AG Says Sacklers Transferred $1B From Pharma Accounts To Themselves

Sep 13, 2019
The revelation comes after almost two dozen states reached a tentative settlement with the maker of OxyContin.
KNPR
Newscast headlines

Nevada AG Won't Accept Purdue Pharma Lawsuit Settlement

Sep 12, 2019
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada's Attorney General says he won't accept a tentative deal that OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma has reached with about half the states and thousands of local governments over the deadly opioid epidemic.
 
Attorney General Aaron Ford said
NPR
Shots - Health News

How To Teach Future Doctors About Pain In The Midst Of The Opioid Crisis

Sep 11, 2019
Around 20% of U.S. adults live with chronic pain. Medical schools traditionally haven't dedicated much time to teaching about pain and pain control, but one top school now has a mandatory course.
KNPR
KNPR's State of Nevada

Drug Makers 'Know What's Coming,' Says Nevada Opioid Lawsuit Lawyer

Sep 09, 2019

The private attorney representing Clark, Washoe and several other Nevada counties in suing drug manufacturers says it will take decades to address the legacy of the opioid epidemic.

NPR
Shots - Health News
Supporters of safe injection sites in Philadelphia rallied outside this week's federal hearing. The judge's ultimate ruling will determine if the proposed "Safehouse" facility to prevent deaths from opioid overdose would violate the federal Controlled Su

Trump Administration Is In Court To Block Nation's First Supervised Injection Site

Sep 06, 2019
Efforts to combat Philadelphia's opioid crisis with a supervised injection site could be stymied by a portion of federal law meant to protect neighborhoods during the crack epidemic of the 1980s.
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.
KNPR
Newscast headlines

Lawyer In Nevada Opioids Suits Sees Boost From Oklahoma Case

Aug 29, 2019
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The lawyer heading Nevada's largest lawsuits against drug manufacturers accused of fueling the nation's opioid addiction crisis predicted Wednesday that companies could be on the hook for judgments in the billions of dollars if cases go before juries.
NPR
Shots - Health News
State's attorney Brad Beckworth lays out one of his closing arguments in Oklahoma's case against drugmaker Johnson & Johnson at the Cleveland County Courthouse in Norman, Okla. in July. The judge in the case ruled Monday that J&J must pay $572 million to

Oklahoma Wanted $17 Billion To Fight Its Opioid Crisis: What's The Real Cost?

Aug 26, 2019
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.
KNPR
Newscast headlines

Report: Government Hospitals Put Native Americans At Risk For Opioid Abuse, Overdose

Jul 23, 2019

U.S. government hospitals put Native American patients at increased risk for opioid abuse and overdoses, according to a new report.

NPR
Shots - Health News
Nationally, drug overdose deaths reached record levels in 2017, when a group protested in New York City on Overdose Awareness Day on August 31. Deaths appear to have declined slightly in 2018, based on provisional numbers, but nearly 68,000 people still

U.S. Overdose Deaths Dipped In 2018, But Some States Saw 'Devastating' Increases

Jul 18, 2019
Provisional overdose data for 2018 show a note of hope in an overall bleak picture. But in some states, the numbers actually got worse. What explains the disparities?
KNPR
Newscast headlines

Data Shows Flood Of Opioids Across US, Many Of Them Generics

Jul 18, 2019

WASHINGTON (AP) — The maker of OxyContin has been cast as the chief villain in the nation's opioid crisis. But newly released government figures suggest Purdue Pharma had plenty of help in flooding the U.S. with billions of pills even as overdose deaths were accelerating.

KNPR
Newscast headlines

Nevada Attorney General Files Wide-Ranging Opioid Lawsuit

Jun 17, 2019
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada's attorney general expanded the state's lawsuit against the maker of the opioid OxyContin on Monday to include the company's former president, his family, other drug makers, distributors and drugstores, including Walgreens, CVS and Walmart.
 
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.

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